Colloquiam: Documents published in 2022

Digital transparency and political communication

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:47:40 +0100

The academic debate on transparency has experienced a boom in recent decades. A review of the scientific literature allows us to identify two key moments in the discussion on digital transparency: the declaration of Barack Obama’s Memorandum on transparency and open government in 2009 and the Cambridge Analytica scandal in 2018. The first was linked to a groundswell of enthusiasm for the concept of government transparency, with the promise that it would boost accountability, eliminate corruption, and promote political efficiency in a crisis of institutional legitimacy. The second altered the digital transparency agenda and catalysed a discussion about the need for technology and social media companies (Facebook, Twitter, or Google) to make transparency commitments because of their role in generating a public conversation and the democratic implications. This paper reviews the idea of digital transparency in the scientific literature framed in the field of political communication and tries to reflect the need for more research on its political, social, and cultural implications.

Universities and knowledge transfer in the communication field. Letter

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:47:23 +0100

“What is the role of universities nowadays?” is one of the questions that those of us who work there should be asking ourselves. Knowledge transfer has emerged as academia’s third mission and must drive social change and development. Specifically, this paper aims to analyze knowledge transfer’s significance in the social sciences and, more specifically, in communication sciences, by looking at the call for the six-year academic research period on knowledge transfer in 2018 and taking into account what is happening in other disciplines. The contributions of the Spanish university community in terms of knowledge transfer fall behind other countries in our field. Only approximately 1% of international patents result from Spanish research. This disparity between these two realms demonstrates the need to promote knowledge transfer as the third helix of the triple helix of an interactive and dynamic university model in communication with institutions and social agents.

Women in the documentary industry: Continuing inequality in the streaming age

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:47:04 +0100

Assessing women’s role in the audiovisual industry provides us with negative data regarding the number of women in the industry, which are also confirmed when factors such as their prominence or leadership in these audiovisual projects are considered. A quantitative and qualitative analysis was thus undertaken based on the need to examine this problem in depth to determine what is happening in the documentary or nonfiction genre, which has exhibited significant growth thanks to the demand for content from subscription video-on-demand (SVoD) streaming platforms. This research analyzes data on the number, prominence, and leadership of women through a review of the 35 Spanish productions in this genre that were produced and/or distributed exclusively on the three leading platforms in Spain between 2016 and 2021. Accordingly, the 2,099 jobs created by these productions have been evaluated, providing data on the occupations and level of responsibility that women had. The research findings confirm the overall data. In addition, they allow us to determine why, although the documentary genre has been associated with greater opportunities for women, this has not held true within the streaming market, where this genre has achieved a greater impact. This underrepresentation of women is especially prominent in the area of leadership.

How to reform research evaluation in Spain. Institutional accreditation as a response to the European Agreement on research assessment. Letter

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:46:43 +0100

The reform of evaluation proposed at European level in the recent Agreement on Reforming Research Assessment represents a window of opportunity to reform the Spanish evaluation system, at a moment when the new Organic Law of the University System (LOSU) is being debated. This agreement establishes the primacy of peer review based on qualitative criteria in order to be able to recognize the diversity of contributions and research careers, and advocates to stop the inappropriate use of journal-based metrics. How can evaluation in Spain, heavily based on these metrics, be reformed to align with these principles? In this letter we propose that it is not possible to move towards the principles of the European agreement without making structural changes in the governance of evaluation, with a return of autonomy to the universities. We advocate that individual evaluations by agencies outside the university should be limited, and that, instead, institutional evaluation should be encouraged. We collect a proposal for ‘institutional accreditation’ as a public control mechanism for the hiring and promotion of professors at the university.

Trajectories and regimes in research versus knowledge evaluations: Contributions to an evolutionary theory of citation

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:46:22 +0100

Citation analysis can provide us with models of the evolutionary dynamics in scholarly and scientific communication. We propose to distinguish between institutional research evaluation (usually, ex post) and knowledge evaluation ex ante, in relation to directionality in citation analysis. We discuss the theoretical literature on communication systems which distinguishes between information and meaning, in which the concept of redundancy plays an important role as measure of the potential of a communication system. This is the basis for a model of knowledge dynamics which differentiates between observable variation and latent selection environments. We use indicators at the journal level and analyze the citation environments of journals in both the cited and citing directions. Among journals, the citing direction can be analyzed by co-citation and indicates the integration of knowledge from different fields. The cited direction can analogously be analyzed by bibliographic coupling and represents the extent to which the cited journal has become relevant for different disciplines, hence indicates knowledge diffusion. We apply this analysis on three different case studies of journal-journal relations: a small scale study of the journal Public Understanding of Science, a random sample of 100 journals, and a large-scale analysis of the set of JCR 2016 journals. Combined, the results seem to confirm the hypothesis that interdisciplinarity cannot be captured by one-dimensional citation analysis. Both citing and cited directions are relevant for knowledge and research evaluations, respectively. We raise the question whether indicators of interdisciplinarity can be developed by combining both directions in citation analysis, indicate further research, and discuss the normative implications of our preliminary results.

Information and communication technology (ICT) skills and job satisfaction of primary education teachers in the context of Covid-19. Theoretical model

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:46:01 +0100

The Covid-19 pandemic has shown that educational systems must have an online component or even a substitute. However, the efforts for this necessary transition fall largely on the teaching staff, who have been forced to quickly adapt their activities to a virtual environment. In this study, a theoretical model for analyzing how teachers’ information and communications technology (ICT) skills and the integration of these technologies influence the improvement of teaching and teacher job satisfaction is introduced. The model also pays special attention to the gender gap related to the use of ICT in teaching. At the empirical level, the model is validated on a sample of 257 Spanish primary school teachers, using the partial least squares (PLS) structural equation method. The results of the analysis show that, although the teachers’ ICT skills help them improve their teaching activities, such skills do not have a direct impact on teachers’ job satisfaction. However, teachers who integrate ICTs into their teaching activities not only improve their results and lighten their workload but also enjoy higher job satisfaction, which translates into more motivated and committed teachers. In addition, teachers’ ICT skills influence job satisfaction in different ways depending on gender. Although, for female teachers, the integration of ICT increases their job satisfaction, the results show that, for male teachers, this integration should generate improvements in teaching to yield enhanced job satisfaction. As the main implication, it is recommended to invest in teachers’ ICT skills, as these lead to enhanced efficiency and motivation and enable the change toward an ICT-based teaching model.

Cómo mejorar el alcance de las bibliotecas públicas para tener un mayor impacto en la comunidad. Una experiencia de biblioteca personalizada

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:45:42 +0100

A lo largo de los años, Innovative Interfaces ha implementado y apoyado los sistemas de bibliotecas públicas de todo el mundo, desde los más grandes a los más pequeños. Innovative siempre ha luchado por una comunicación óptima entre los desarrolladores de programas, las bibliotecas y los usuarios. Esto ha hecho posible obtener productos y soluciones que funcionan a escala de cada usuario. Los avances conseguidos han sido clave para redefinir los estándares de la automatización y la función de descubrimiento de las bibliotecas en las próximas décadas.

Encuesta a bibliotecarios
Uno de los métodos usados por Innovative para conocer la opinión del sector bibliotecario es el estudio anual realizado junto a Witt Associates LLC, una empresa de investigación independiente que lleva más de cuarenta años diseñando, ejecutando y analizando encuestas sobre política pública. La última encuesta (de octubre de 2021) ha proporcionado información muy interesante sobre nuestro sector, el de la biblioteconomía, durante la pandemia.

Early career researchers in the pandemic-fashioned ‘new scholarly normality’: voices from the research frontline

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:45:14 +0100

After two-years of talking to around 170 early career science/social science researchers from China, France, Malaysia, Poland, Russia, Spain, UK and US about their work life and scholarly communications during the pandemic, the Harbingers-2 project is in possession of a mountain of verbatim data. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the kinds of comments ECRs are raising, with a focus on those that provide a particular interesting and illuminating take on ECRs’ experiences under difficult times. Comments, for instance, that might challenge the established order of things or that presage big changes down the line. The selection of comments presented here were made by the national interviewers shortly after the completion of the last of three rounds of interviews (two interviews in the case of Russia). The understandings, appreciations and suggestions thus raised by the ECRs are insightful and constructive, which is what we might have expected from this cohort who are very much at the forefront of the research enterprise and veritable research workhorses. Sixteen broad scholarly topics are represented by quotes/comments, with the main focus of the comments on a subset of these: research performance and assessment, scholarly communication transformations, networking and collaboration, social media and access to information/libraries, which suggests, perhaps, where the action, concerns and interest mainly lie.

Audio communication in the face of the renaissance of digital audio

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:44:45 +0100

In recent years, digital audio has undergone an explosion. The transformation of radio and its expansion to new channels and consumer devices, added to the rise of podcasts and streaming music platforms, have led to the transformation of the audio ecosystem. This transition from the audio medium to audio media has involved an integral change in content, as well as in its production and reception processes. In this regard, the aim of this paper is to approach the present digital audio scene from the standpoint of its content, formats, and broadcasting models as well as of the new professional profiles, business models, and consumer–relationship practices, providing a snapshot that is completed with a prospective reflection on the challenges facing radio in this new ecosystem.

Integrated research model for web interfaces: toward a taxonomy of quantitative and qualitative analysis for digital native media

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:44:27 +0100

In a context marked by the emergence of new platforms and interfaces, digital native media face the challenge of organizing and presenting their content in an effective and eloquent way. This milestone requires ongoing work toward the identification and conceptualization of the dimensions that map the structural and formal requirements necessary for fluid communication with audiences and adequate visibility in the digital ecosystem. This study, which adopts a quantitative–qualitative methodological design, proposes, describes, and applies a taxonomy for the analysis of digital media web interfaces. Based on a review of the literature, two rounds of expert judgment, and a pilot test, the research identifies 14 thematic dimensions, 36 indicators, and 69 variables. The study focuses on the importance of renewing research about taxonomy related to structural dimensions that address narrative, quality, usability, information search, and content redissemination and socialization, among other aspects. The study of web interfaces applied to journalism demands long-term research work with a holistic approach that, at a conceptual and practical level, can offer proposals for analysis and diagnosis on the basis of an integrated method.

SCImago Graphica: a new tool for exploring and visually communicating data

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:44:00 +0100

Despite the increasing number of data visualization authoring systems in recent years, it remains a challenge to simultaneously achieve high expressive power and ease of use in a single tool. In this paper we present SCImago Graphica, a no-code tool which allows the creation of complex visualizations by simple drag-and-drop interactions. Users bind the data variables to the different encoding channels, and specify the settings of each binding, from which the tool generates the interactive graphical display. Due to its efficiency of use, SCImago Graphica is not only suitable for visually communicating data, but also for exploratory data analysis. We evaluate the expressiveness and ease of use of SCImago Graphica through various examples of chart construction and a catalog of visualizations. The results show that SCImago Graphica makes it possible to create a wide variety of data visualizations quickly and easily.

Early career researchers in the pandemic-fashioned ‘new scholarly normality’: a first look into the big changes and long-lasting impacts (international analysis)

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:43:26 +0100

After two-years of repeat interviewing around 170 early career science/social science researchers from China, France, Malaysia, Poland, Russia, Spain, UK and US about their work life and scholarly communications in pandemic-times, the Harbingers project is now in possession of a mountain of data on what constitutes a very important academic topic. The purpose of the paper is to share the early highlights of the data, with a focus on the main and lasting impacts of the pandemic. The data presented comes from the national interviewers, who had conducted 3 rounds of interviews with their 20 or so early career researchers (ECRs) over two years and, thus, knew them well. They were asked to provide an ‘aerial view’ by identifying the most important impacts they had detected while things were still fresh in their minds. The main findings are that: 1) ECRs, the research workhorses, have generally proved to be resilient and perseverant and some have prospered; 2) the pandemic has fast-tracked researchers to a virtual and remote scholarly world, with all the advantages and disadvantages that comes with it. The data, however, is nuanced, with significant differences occurring between countries, especially China and France. The paper also updates a literature review on the topic previously published in this journal.

Metaverse and education: the pioneering case of Minecraft in immersive digital learning

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:42:58 +0100

The metaverse is presented as a possible new technological iteration for the Internet. The generation of virtual universes in which the physical and the digital converge raises the question of how education will be addressed in these new systems. We find, however, pioneering exercises such as Minecraft: Education Edition. This platform is a version based on the popular sandbox video game, which was originally created by a community of teachers. The aim of this research is to analyze and describe the idiosyncratic characteristics of Minecraft as an educational platform, framing it as one of the pioneering exercises in the metaverse. To this end, we have employed a methodology that combines Multimodal Discourse Analysis with Grounded Theory and the Constant Comparative Method. As conclusions, we observe how the Minecraft Education platform reinforces from its approach pre-existing aspects from the physical world, resizing them to adapt them to its connected digital environment. These are key elements such as the identity of the participants, their ability to act within the system, creativity through lessons as a guide to the educational objectives and the community as the backbone of the process. At the same time, it presents differential components, such as the use of avatars, the transition from textual literacy to multimodal literacy, game mechanics that boost creativity or transhuman capabilities that defy physical space-time. All in all, the platform is designed for teachers, parents and managers, to whom it offers a series of benefits. Therefore, the pedagogical action will depend on their judgment and execution, especially through the elaboration of lessons and worlds, the management of the sessions and their interaction in community environments. It is their responsibility to ensure that the educational experience is truly empowering or, on the contrary, that it ends up being governed by reproductive criteria linked to symbolic violence.

Knowing how to share and to protect oneself: key factors on digital cybercritical education for children

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:42:37 +0100

Children live together consuming, producing, and sharing digital content. These are hypermediated communication actions typical of cyberculture, and require training in critical thinking that, even when minors receive it, is not always perceived as necessary, which can put the privacy of children at risk. This study focuses on analyzing the cyber skills of primary and high school students to act critically, and examines the level of conceptual, attitudinal, and procedural competence that children perceive they have acquired to access, consume, create, and share digital content on social media. The specific objective is to understand some of the components that may be related to young people’s perception of the training they have received, as well as whether there are differences in terms of their willingness to acquire training to protect themselves when creating and consuming digital content. To this end, a 25-item questionnaire on the knowledge, attitudes, and actions of young people was designed, validated, and administered to a sample of 417 Spanish students completing primary and high school education. The results obtained indicate that, at the conceptual level, there are no differences between the educational stages, while differences were found at the attitudinal and procedural levels. The two factors identified show that, although high school students have acquired certain critical and protective attitudes, they behave more riskily in their self-presentation and posts than primary school students when accessing, creating, and sharing digital content on social media, and that the training received and the willingness to learn about how to create and share were the differentiating variables for increased protection. We conclude that there is a need for introducing education specific to the critical analysis and self-protection of Internet use at the primary education level, as well as additional training that would help to avoid risky behavior during high school.

Competences of SEO specialists: a perspective from the labor market. Technical note

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:42:16 +0100

The search engine optimization (SEO) specialist, or web positioning specialist, is one of the digital communication professionals that have emerged from the use of search engines as a means of attracting online audiences. The results of an analysis of labor demand demonstrate the importance of specific competences not intrinsically linked to this specialty, such as web analytics and digital marketing, and transversal competences, such as analytical skills, English-language skills, and an interest in learning. Its implications for the academic and business world open up future areas of study to confirm the professional sector’s requirements and illustrate the effectiveness of higher education, focusing on improving employability.

Methodology for the evaluation of media literacy in children and youth. Recommendations and trends

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:41:53 +0100

In the current communicational scenario, transformed by technological and digital advances, media literacy is considered a crucial competence for active and informed participation in society. In this context, the main objective of this study was to assess the media literacy competences of 416 students of the 4th, 6th, and 9th grades in Portugal, identifying training needs and presenting suggestions for intervention. A non-experimental quantitative methodology was used, and the participants completed a self-response questionnaire. The results indicate that the three grades studied have a transversal need regarding the use of media, the production of media content, and participation in society through the media, and also regarding the analysis, understanding, and assessment of media content. We confirm the importance of media education in the development of media literacy and present some intervention suggestions for the promotion of these competences in the school context, namely the reinforcement of some curricular content, the use of guiding documents, and the development of critical thinking. We emphasize the importance of training teachers and parents on the subject, and finally, we also emphasize the importance of deconstructing the belief that digital natives have natural competences in this regard and therefore do not need training in this area.

Evolution of the public problem of depopulation in Spain: longitudinal analysis of the media agenda

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:41:35 +0100

According to the sociology of public problems, the construction, visibility, and stabilization of a public problem require the mobilization of collectives of citizens interested in the issue, which act as an active entity in demanding actions and policies. One such issue is the depopulation of rural areas in Spain, which has shifted from a geographically localized problem to a matter of state policy. This article investigates the influence of framing in this process, analyzing a corpus of 5,980 headlines from newspapers in the Aragon, Castile-La Mancha, and Castile and Leon regions of Spain as well as from two national media outlets, corresponding to the period 2012–2021. Through the application of statistical analyses of lexical frequency in stages, the most significant terms in the evolution of the media’s coverage of the issue have been identified, which has made it possible to observe the appearance and displacement of concepts and their relationship to the most important milestones of social and political mobilization. In addition, its power to stir up sentiment in socio-political discourse has been explored. The consolidation of depopulation as a stable element in the Spanish media agenda, going beyond the regional sphere and having a presence dissociated from specific events through time, in contrast to what occurred some years ago, stands out. Finding a media-friendly frame -empty Spain [España vacía] and emptied Spain [España vaciada]- may have been a key element in this.

Accountability of unaccountable institutions: oversight of the press, social networks, and the Spanish Parliament over the Spanish king emeritus

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:41:18 +0100

Convictions of political corruption depend on public communication, since for citizens, to perceive deviant behaviours, these must receive attention. In Spain, this type of behaviour is part of the agendas of citizens, media, and politicians and, to fight against it, accountability is essential. In addition to the judiciary and legislature (in their oversight role), the media and social media help voters, MPs and others to make informed decisions and press for action. However, the interrelationships between different agents, types, and forms of control for accountability are a rather unexplored research topic, especially when considering non-accountable institutions (those that have power, but are not directly accountable to the electorate, such as the monarchy). The debate on the inviolability of the emeritus presents a perfect scenario to describe what formulas and what kind of sanctions (legal, labour, reputational or personal) for accountability have occurred in Spain in the case of a non-accountable institution. This study explores the agendas of media, Parliament, and Twitter (and their inter-influences) during the Geneva papers scandal. We analyzed 189,037 tweets, 1,220 journalistic pieces and 78 parliamentary initiatives related to the former monarch. The main results show that the media, social networks, and Parliament have acted as agents of accountability with Juan Carlos I, as if it were an accountable institution. Online newspapers and Twitter have led the oversight, while the parliamentary initiative has been ineffective and has essentially served as an instrument of partisan communication.

Elections and fact-checking in Portugal: the case of the 2019 and 2022 legislative elections

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:41:01 +0100

Fact-checking is a relatively recent journalistic genre in Portugal that has been growing in recent years, alternately viewed as a journalism reform movement or criticized as inefficient and idealistic. Our study is a comparative analysis of the output of the Portuguese fact-checkers Observador and Polígrafo in the 2019–2022 elections to determine whether their coverage is politically biased. Performing a quantitative content analysis of all fact-checking articles on national politics (n = 265) published during the campaign for the parliamentary elections, our results show that fact-checking activity has increased in the last elections. These data may indicate that fact-checking agencies have increased their capacity and resources, but may also suggest a greater presence of subjectivity and deception in Portuguese political discourse. The focus of Portuguese fact-checkers is statements produced during political debates (70%), while social media verification is disregarded. Our most significant finding is the lack of evidence of partisan or political bias in the selection of the assessed statements. Both fact-checkers do not show a tendency to check statements that are more or less anti- or pro-government and/or statements that are ideologically favorable to the left wing or the right wing. Therefore, our findings confirm the high level of professionalism and impartiality of Portuguese fact-checkers evidenced in other studies, and demonstrate that the Portuguese citizen’s skepticism toward the practice has no foundation.

Culture of information and information exchange in a public hospital: a study based on the information orientation model and social network analysis

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:40:44 +0100

The structures of hospitals have evolved to make them centre on patients and their pathologies, with care procedures that are both interprofessional and interorganisational. This has given rise to work environments made up of teams obliged to collaborate in their problem-solving, with an essential focus on proper collaborative information behaviour (CIB). The aim was to study this behaviour in a clinical service of a hospital in relation to two aspects: information culture (IC) and the exchange of information. This entailed designing a two-part descriptive study. The first step was to administer a survey based on the information orientation model to know more about the service’s IC. The second phase focussed on the exchange of information from the perspective of an analysis of social networks. The main characteristic of IC was its proactive nature, especially in the use of information to improve one’s own work (mean = 4.58) and to respond to changes and new developments relating to work (mean = 4.18). The factor that least characterised IC was control, particularly in relation to knowledge of the objective of the activity itself (mean = 2.67) and the dispersion of information about hospital processes (mean = 2.64). On social networks, factors contrary to an interprofessional CIB were identified, such as homophily and low reciprocity in terms of relationships. In practice, the results identified a need to reinforce the perception of information as a resource, the proper use of which benefits job performance at both an individual and group level. A need to reinforce flows of internal hospital-related information was likewise evident. From a theoretical and methodological point of view, a useful tool is made available for diagnosing the collaborative information behaviour of an organisation and designing strategies to improve it.

Artificial intelligence strategies in European public broadcasters: Uses, forecasts and future challenges

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:40:28 +0100

As artificial intelligence (AI) gains space in the media, public broadcasters are testing and experimenting with these technologies to raise their services to the new standards of the audiovisual ecosystem. From algorithms that help recommend the most suitable content for users, to others that detect news and automate some of the tasks of journalists, these tools are increasingly present in public audiovisual corporations. The data were obtained from semi-structured in-depth interviews with a convenience sample of 15 corporations from 12 countries. The results reflect a heterogeneous application of artificial intelligence in corporations, oriented towards the automatic creation of content from structured data, the improvement of audience interaction through chatbots, and personalisation or verification. The implementation of these technologies also poses major challenges. Firstly, the economic cost of adapting these systems to each corporation and the difficulties in hiring experts to develop AI solutions prevent a complete deployment of these tools in public broadcasters. As main conclusions, we have understood that AI as a “culture” is believed to be vital for the public audiovisual services of the future, although its application is still far from being a standard and generally does not occupy a relevant strategic position in the innovation departments of corporations.

Open data on Covid-19 in the Spanish autonomous communities: reutilization in spatial epidemiology studies

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:40:13 +0100

The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for governments and health administrations at all levels to have an open data registry that facilitates decision-making in the planning and management of health resources and provides information to citizens on the evolution of the epidemic. The concept of “open data” includes the possibility of reutilization by third parties. Space and time are basic dimensions used to structure and interpret the data of the variables that refer to the health status of the people themselves. Hence, the main objective of this study is to evaluate whether the autonomous communities’ data files regarding Covid-19 are reusable to analyze the evolution of the disease in basic spatial and temporal analysis units at the regional and national levels. To this end, open data files containing the number of diagnosed cases of Covid-19 distributed in basic health or administrative spatial units and temporal units were selected from the portals of the Spanish autonomous communities. The presence of infection-related, demographic, and temporal variables, as well as the download format and metadata, were mainly evaluated. Whether the structure of the files was homogeneous and adequate for the application of spatial analysis techniques was also analyzed. The results reveal a lack of standardization in the collection of data in both spatial and temporal units and an absence of, or ambiguity in, the meaning of the variables owing to a lack of metadata. An inadequate structure was also found in the files of seven autonomous communities, which would require subsequent processing of the data to enable their reuse and the application of analysis and spatial modeling techniques, both when carrying out global analyses and when comparing patterns of evolution between different regions.

Using testimonial narratives to persuade people about artificial intelligence: the role of attitudinal similarity with the protagonist of the message

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:39:56 +0100

This study addresses the factors that increase the persuasive impact of testimonial narrative messages on artificial intelligence (AI). In particular, the effect on two variables that, to date, have not been explored in this field is analyzed: the attitudes toward AI (positive versus ambivalent) expressed by the protagonist of the narrative message (a testimonial in audiovisual format) and the role of participants’ prior beliefs about AI. An online experiment (N = 652) was carried out to contrast the effect of attitudinal similarity on identification with the protagonist of the narrative message and the indirect effect on attitudes and intention to use AI. The results showed that the message whose protagonist expressed positive attitudes toward AI induced greater identification only in those participants with previous positive beliefs. In contrast, the message whose protagonist expressed ambivalent attitudes toward AI induced greater identification only among participants with previous negative beliefs. In addition, identification and cognitive elaboration were found to mediate the effect of attitudinal similarity on the attitude toward and intention to use AI. These findings are discussed in the context of narrative persuasion research and the development of campaigns for improving social perceptions of data science.

Transparency mechanisms in the media: analysis of Spain and Portugal

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:39:40 +0100

Transparency in the media has become a fundamental pillar within all democratic societies, as a mechanism for reinforcing government regulation (Anderson, 2009) and citizen trust in institutions (Vos and Craft, 2016). Journalism, which has traditionally acted as a watchdog and a check on power, is now in the midst of a credibility crisis, compounded by polarization and the rise of disinformation. For this reason, various studies advocate that media outlets, just like institutions and governments, should use transparency mechanisms that allow them to respond directly or indirectly to society regarding the content they publish, as an exercise of responsibility. This research aims to evaluate media transparency in the Spanish–Portuguese landscape by means of an index that includes variables studied in the theoretical framework and that come from legislative, academic, and professional sources. These variables have been used to measure corporate and financial transparency, transparency in content production, openness to public participation, and the self-regulation mechanisms of ten media outlets in Spain and Portugal. This study concluded that, with only 43% adherence to the transparency variables analyzed, promoting accountability is still a work in progress for media outlets, and it must be stepped up at both the academic and professional levels.

A comparison of public disclosure in archives and libraries using TransPa_BA

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:39:23 +0100

Transparency has drawn considerable international attention as an umbrella term covering issues relating to the struggle against corruption, the design of more open and participatory government and institutional, corporate, and social agent accountability. It is likewise associated with open data and guaranteed access to public information. However, transparency also has a second important dimension, viz. public disclosure, whereby institutions are required to furnish citizens with public information in their interest. Assessment of both dimensions of transparency poses problems and difficulties. The present article discusses the results of applying the TransPa_BA tool to assess public disclosure in 202 archives and libraries (information units) under the aegis of different government bodies. This tool proposes a series of indicators to measure active disclosure by public libraries and archives in keeping with the provisions of Spanish Act 19/2013 of 9 December on Transparency, Access to Public Information and Good Governance. The indicators and their respective parameters (content, form, reusability, accessibility, dating and updating/validity) establish general outlines enabling these institutions to enhance their transparency by furnishing not only society in general, but also their stakeholders, with information regarding their activities and performance. Accessibility of active public disclosure-related documents was found to be wanting in all but university libraries. As a collective learning tool for information unit managers, TransPa_BA can be used to monitor and gradually improve transparency in libraries and archives.

Communication and crisis in the public space: Dissolution and uncertainty

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:39:09 +0100

The evolution from a public space such as the one defined throughout the twentieth century –characterised by unidirectionality and political and media intermediation– towards a digital scenario –with multiple actors and multi-directional messages– has not resolved the problems that existed beforehand, and has also generated others. This public space crisis has been aggravated by the fragmentation of audiences, often absorbed into their own echo chamber, and by the dispersion and jumble of voices that are an impediment to any possibility of unravelling the terms of public debate. Faced with enormous challenges such as disinformation, the conventional media, who have traditionally held the responsibility of providing quality information, address these issues from a position of extreme vulnerability, due to the disintegration of the former economic model and social credibility. In a context of uncertainty, crisis, and fragmented public spheres, and there being no alternatives that can guarantee distinct dialogue, the initiation of a social debate that prioritises quality of information is essential.

Letter: Central nodes in the reform of the Spanish Universities Law

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:38:52 +0100

The recent presentation of the definitive Bill for the Organic Law of the Spanish University System was preceded by a long process of consultation and negotiation with the university community, and its starting point can be found in a qualitative study carried out by the authors of this letter. That research work aimed to reveal the positions of the different sectors involved in the universities in terms of the three nodes which had been defined by the Ministry for Universities as strategic: finance, governance, and professional advancement. This letter aims to compare these positions with the definitive articles of the Bill, in addition to situating the final governance design within the European regulatory framework. It highlights the uniqueness of the Spanish model in a context of reform that is strongly influenced by the ideals of New Public Management.

Concurrences and divergences between Spanish infotainment comedy professionals and audiences

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:38:37 +0100

Infotainment comedy is the branch of infotainment that mixes current affairs content with comedy. “Infotainment” is a relatively new term, first cited by Krüger (1988); as a television trend, academics agree that it must have existed much earlier, with English-language examples such as Saturday Night Live (NBC, 1975) or That was the week that was (BBC, 1962). In Spain, the roots of infotainment lie in Caiga quien caiga (Telecinco, 1996), a precursor to satirical pseudojournalism (García-Avilés, 1999). Nowadays, there are programs that present current affairs with comedy, as in the case of El intermedio (La Sexta, 2006) or Todo es mentira (Cuatro, 2019). Owing to the continuous evolution of formats and their complex definition and classification by academics and professionals, it is worth considering whether audiences also interpret the different programs in different ways depending on their elements, given that they depend on an “intuitive understanding” (Reinemann et al., 2011; Otto et al., 2017) that stems from the habit of repeated consumption. This article presents the results of a reception study contrasting Spanish infotainment comedy professionals and their audiences to assess whether their impressions of these shows are similar or if, on the contrary, their hybrid nature is so changeable that they have come to interpret them in a very different way. The methodology involved ten discussion groups with a total of 87 viewers and 13 interviews with professionals from four programs: El intermedio, Todo es mentira, Ese programa del que usted me habla (La 2, 2019), and La resistencia (Movistar+, 2018). According to the statements collected, the results revealed that audiences and content creators show more points of divergence than concurrences, which means that the messages are interpreted differently from how they were intended.

Influencers with physical disabilities on Instagram: Features, visibility and business collaboration

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:38:20 +0100

In the digital world, social media have become important for people with disabilities in terms of communication and visibility. They have also become the ideal place for activism, as they allow the self-representation of disability by the content creators themselves. This social group, traditionally segregated and discriminated against, has seen in these platforms a tool to promote social inclusion and confront the dominant discourse. This paper explores the social media Instagram as a space for communication and visibility of instagrammers with disabilities from Europe and Latin America. The main objective of the research is to analyse the publications of Spanish-speaking influencers with physical disabilities to establish if there are similar characteristics or if there are significant differences in the uses they make of Instagram’s functions and how disability is represented in their profiles. Through quantitative, descriptive, and statistical research, a content analysis was carried out of 400 publications corresponding to 10 Instagram profiles, all of them of microinfluencers and macroinfluencers with physical disabilities who had different types of business collaborations. The results show that disability is visible in 85% of the publications, whether in the photos or videos shared, in the text of the post, hashtags or emoticons, although it predominates to a greater extent in audiovisual content. In advertising, mentions or tags of brands stand out, much more than paid collaboration, which appears as a minority compared to other forms of promotion. The degree of influence is decisive for interactions in the form of likes and views per video or reels. Finally, the use of hashtags on inclusion and social awareness reinforces the importance of these platforms for the social integration of people with disabilities.

Inflaming public debate: a methodology to determine origin and characteristics of hate speech about sexual and gender diversity on Twitter

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:38:04 +0100

This article is focused on the reproduction of ideologically charged messages whose origins or interests remain hidden from public opinion. There is an urgent need for transparency regarding polarised debates that deform, impede or distort the critical approach that any society should be able to construct concerning issues of great social interest, especially on social media platforms and networks. Research has shown that hostility has colonised digital communication through misogynist, homophobic, transphobic or xenophobic messages, among others, and that, for the most part, these are not spontaneous or individual interactions. In the virtual space, there are forces that, although invisible outside it, construct narratives, generate disinformation and feed generally regressive ideological approaches. Thus, in the name of transparency and social justice, there is an urgent need to investigate these types of messages, as well as their possible destabilising interests at a time of special presence and reputation of discourses such as the feminist one, which is currently experiencing a significant reactionary response. This paper investigates the origin and characteristics of the conversation on the social network Twitter concerning gender and sexual identities. To this end, we studied a significant sample of tweets (>1 million) related to women’s rights, the LGBTIQ+ collective and trans people, for a full year. Computerised methodologies by means of machine learning techniques, natural language processing (NLP), determination of bots, geolocation, and the application of network theories were used to carry out the study. The results include the highly interrelated presence of groups without clear referents, as well as the existence of what appear to be coordinated networks aimed at causing harm and provoking confrontation.

Paradigm changes and new challenges for media education: Review and science mapping (2000-2021)

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:37:46 +0100

Information, communication, and digitalization technologies have driven the unlimited access to knowledge, thereby promoting creativity, economic and cultural development, and the emergence of a global world at breakneck speed over recent decades. Across its multiple dynamics, this digital revolution has opened new educational opportunities that are closely connected to emerging technologies and, recently, to artificial intelligence. These advances have had an unexpected impact on people’s lives, altering the values of society and our understanding of the role of education and the modern school in this scenario of global communication. In this context, media education arises from the clear influence of electronic devices and digital technology on society. The aim of this study is to review our understanding of the scientific relevance of the terms “media education” and “educommunication” during the last two decades to describe its evolution on the basis of its terms, locations, thematic stages, and methodological approaches using a systematic quantitative–qualitative review of 598 articles collected from the Web of Science between 2000 and 2021. The results suggest that such scientific interest can be divided into two stages, viz. reflections on media education in its terminological diversity (2000–2012) and measurement, implementation, training, and educommunicative digitization in terms of technological–digital development (2013–2021). We conclude that studies in this transdisciplinary field, which have historically been spread across North and South America, Europe, North Africa, and the North/South East Asia–Pacific region, have broadened their perspective from early criticism of media education to consider the “glocalization” of media education, directing interest toward the cultural digitization of the Global South, algorithmic literacy, and the digital and ethical–critical (self-)management of individual and collective identity.

Use and adoption of digital educommunication media by university professors during the Covid-19 pandemic: cases of the National Autonomous University of Mexico and the Autonomous University of Chihuahua

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:37:29 +0100

This article analyzes the educational use of digital educommunication media (DEM) by four groups of professors working at the faculties of Philosophy and Letters and of Engineering at the Autonomous University of Chihuahua (UACH) and at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). Seven hypotheses and three research questions were posed, which were related to the use of DEM (specifically: images, animations, and video; presentations (PowerPoint/Prezi); digital texts; the Cloud; social media/instant messaging; and email), their qualities and the differences regarding their use, among the different groups studied. A two-phase mixed-methods explanatory sequential approach was employed, with a first phase of quantitative data collection and a second qualitative phase. A stratified sample of 177 professors was selected, which was distributed proportionally between the two selected faculties and universities. All professors completed a 144-item questionnaire in the first phase, and on the basis of their answers, ten professors were selected to be interviewed in the second phase, to ensure the diversity of the interviewed group in terms of sex, age, faculty, and educational level at which they teach, as well as their teaching experience and experience in the use of DEM. Among the results, we found that: a) the choice between using DEM or traditional media in class was not determined by teachers’ perception about their students’ learning with technology; b) the characteristics of each DEM determined its use, but the use of a given DEM was not related to the activities that it could enable; c) the professors exclusively teaching in graduate programs, the younger ones, those from UNAM, or those of Engineering did not present significant differences to their counterparts in terms of their use and assessment of DEM; and d) the qualitative data reaffirmed these trends and helped typify the challenges and opportunities of using DEM, particularly those that arose from the period of the exclusively online education model that was adopted owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Digital footprints of Kashmiri Pandit migration on Twitter

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:37:11 +0100

The paper investigates changing levels of online concern about the Kashmiri Pandit migration of the 1990s on Twitter. Although decades old, this movement of people is an ongoing issue in India, with no current resolution. Analysing changing reactions to it on social media may shed light on trends in public attitudes to the event. Tweets were downloaded from Twitter using the academic version of its application programming interface (API) with the aid of the free social media analytics software Mozdeh. A set of 1000 tweets was selected for content analysis with a random number generator in Mozdeh. The results show that the number of tweets about the issue has increased over time, mainly from India, and predominantly driven by the release of films like Shikara and The Kashmir Files. The tweets show apparent universal sup-port for the Pandits but often express strong emotions or criticize the actions of politicians, showing that the migration is an ongoing source of anguish and frustration that needs resolution. The results also show that social media analysis can give insights even into primarily offline political issues that predate the popularity of the web, and can easily incorporate international perspectives necessary to understand complex migration issues.

The branded podcast as a new brand content strategy. Analysis, trends and classification proposal

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:36:48 +0100

Podcasting is all the rage. The distribution of audio content has recently gained great momentum on a personal, media and business level. In this context, brands have begun to see the opportunity to use this communication tool to connect with the audience and generate emotional bonds through attractive content. However, there are still few studies that take a rigorous look at branded podcast. This research explores the phenomenon of podcasting as branded content in Spain and Latin America, making a radiography of the current situation of the branded podcast, from a mixed approach, delimiting its features, observing some trends and making a proposal for classification (according to the type of brand involvement, according to formal criteria and basic descriptors of the podcast, according to content, functional and narrative criteria, and according to the nature of the sponsoring company and its relation to the production of the podcast). The search for and analysis of branded podcasts is the main work of this research, with a sample of 100 podcasts, differentiating the branded podcast from other typologies such as podcast sponsorship, corporate podcasts and institutional podcasts. Among the results we highlight the variety of styles and themes in their own sound content, all of them linked to a greater or lesser extent to the business sector of the companies. In addition, these podcasts are broadcast on their websites and audio platforms and are more educational and informative than entertaining. It is therefore an approach to branded podcasting with a proposal for classification that aims to be a first conceptualisation of this phenomenon.

Evolution of the media: map of a discipline under construction. A review

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:36:33 +0100

The vertiginous explosion of new forms and experiences of communication that have emerged in the last 30 years cannot be compared with other moments in the history of humanity. The rapid transformation of the media ecosystem and the technological sphere in general is putting old scientific theories and models to the test. The very idea of “ecosystem” or widely used concepts such as “emergence” (of new media) or “adaptation” or even “extinction” (of old media), albeit metaphorically, point in the same direction: the development of an evolutionary theory of media change. This review article aims to map the different approaches and contributions that come together in an evolutionary theory of the media, understood for all purposes as a transdisciplinary work-in-progress. The article opens with a reflection on the processes of theoretical construction, continues with a map of Media Ecology –a “field of inquiry” inspired by the works of Marshall McLuhan and Neil Postman– and concludes this first approach with the authors who worked on the evolutionary dimension of media change. It could be said that the evolutionary theory of the media already exists, but it is scattered in countless texts and investigations waiting to be articulated. The article concludes with a first identikit of the Evolution of the Media, understood as a theoretical field under construction but more than necessary to understand the past and contemporary transformations of the media ecosystem.

Podcast fandom in Europe: Audio audiences’ participation in a digital context

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:36:14 +0100

Podcasts are an increasingly popular form of sound media that generate active listeners and fandom around them. These programmes present an opportunity for scholars to analyse not only new forms of consumption around convergent and on-demand media, but also the particular phenomenon of fandom related to audio productions in the current digital context. Scholars have mainly focused on studying how fandoms use podcasts to create content rather than on podcast fandoms. This paper analyses podcast fandoms in Europe, what distinguishes them from other active audiences, and how they engage with this digital media through online tools. To explore this, a method of triangulation is used, relying on content and netnography analysis, and both top-down and bottom-up strategies are considered across the biggest European markets. Results show that around a third of the podcasts in the sample have an active fandom that engages with these programmes through social media, primarily on Instagram, through the creation of content. This content usually highlights the brand identity of the podcasts through the creation of fan art and fan accounts, and that there are more consistencies across European fandoms than exist across European audiences. This suggests that social media sites, and particularly Instagram, are used by fandoms across Europe in an equivalent way to extend their textual productivity and that this is still what distinguishes audiences from fans. These findings have important implications for scholars and producers alike, both to build upon the knowledge of reception and fan studies and to understand how to encourage fandom engagement on social media sites.

Roles and digital identities on Twitter and Instagram: An ethnographic study of Chilean journalists

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:35:51 +0100

On the basis of a digital ethnography and in-depth interviews with Chilean journalists, this study analyzes how news professionals reinterpret and redefine their professional roles on Twitter and Instagram through their practices and discourse, building different digital identities. The results of our analyses show that Twitter and Instagram strengthen and render a more complex construction of journalists’ digital selves, allowing them to build a multi-dimensional identity that goes beyond the framework defined by the media in which they work through the performance of emerging and more traditional roles: (1) the service role becomes a resource for creating community-oriented identities and for helping to resolve individuals’ everyday challenges; (2) the celebrity role supports the construction of an identity that plays with distances and social status, distinguishing and differentiating the journalist from others; (3) the promoter role allows them to promote their work and that of their media outlets as well as products and services, which generates a material benefit and gives the practices an instrumental meaning; and (4) the joker role allows them to entertain the audience and engage in a playful and critical way of observing the world through humor, irony, and sarcasm. Journalists make these roles compatible and decide which they want to use depending on their target audience and the specific platform used, validating certain practices and media strategies. In the case of Twitter, we observe a reinterpretation of traditional practices, and on Instagram we found a clearer redefinition of journalistic roles.

Influence of government communication on risk perception. An analysis based on the context of the sixth wave of Covid-19 in Madrid

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:35:31 +0100

Risk theorists have frequently discussed the discursive construction of risk perception. In particular, the effect of media consumption on increasing the subjective perception of risk has been highlighted. Not much is known about how government communication affects citizens’ impressions and attitudes in this area, something that this research seeks to address. During the sixth wave of Covid-19, triggered by the emergence of the Omicron variant, government discourse shifted from initial concern to what has become known as the “influenzaisation” paradigm, an attempt to normalise the disease. Based on the results of a survey carried out in January 2022 amongst 664 citizens of the Community of Madrid, we sought to demonstrate, using binary logistic regression (BLR) models, to what extent the degree to which the citizens of Madrid internalised the government’s thesis of “influenzaisation” was related to a lower perception of risk. Similarly, the aim is to show whether agreement with the “influenzaisation” thesis also favoured positions that were less inclined to restrictions, so that government communication succeeded in reducing the social demand for measures. Finally, the study evaluates the predictive character of ideology on levels of risk perception and attitudes towards restrictive measures. The findings indicate that acceptance of the “influenzaisation” story led to a lower perception of risk and, as a consequence, reduced support for restrictive measures among those most exposed to this thesis. The discursive articulation of risk in government communication becomes a central element of crisis management and the strategic formulation of “risk de-escalation” or “post-risk” messages.

Galileo, a data platform for viewing news on social networks

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:35:10 +0100

This article aims to introduce Galileo, a platform for extracting and organizing news media data on social networks. Galileo integrates publications made on the main social networks used in the information ecosystem, namely Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Currently, the system includes 97 media outlets from nine countries: Brazil, Chile, Germany, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, Spain, United Kingdom, and United States. Galileo uses a Twitter API and the service CrowdTangle to download Facebook and Instagram posts. This data is stored in a local database and can be accessed through a user-friendly interface, which allows for the analysis of different characteristics of the posts, such as their text, source popularity, and temporal dimension. Galileo is a tool for researchers interested in understanding news cycles and analyzing news content on social networks.

Publishing, books and reading: Spaces of authorship, visibility, and socialisation

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:34:46 +0100

Over the course of history, the book and its environment have been in permanent transformation, undergoing changes that have affected its format, textual arrangement, form of reading, and production and distribution systems, as well as its social consideration as an instrument for the transmission of knowledge. One of the greatest changes has taken place in the 21st century with the emergence of digital formats throughout the publishing value chain. If in previous eras the transformations had affected one or other of the mentioned elements, the digital revolution has impacted on all of them simultaneously, as it has modified the ways in which works are created, produced, distributed, and consumed. Also, it has introduced for the first time an element of intermediation between the reader and reading: the device, which, in its different varieties, implies an element of additional complexity. At the present time, and after almost two decades, we can see the advances and setbacks that have occurred on this journey; the achievements and shortcomings from the publishing point of view, in which a strengthening of the big companies can be appreciated; and the emergence of a system of self-publishing that represents a rupture with traditional systems. From the point of view of authorship, the value of the brand, of charisma and prestige, has been emphasised, while a movement of creation is taking place on the fringes of the system that renounces posterity and recognition in favour of visibility. This approach to authorship is also subject to the influx and influence of social networks with their positive effects, in the form of projection, and negative ones, in the form of new ways of censure. Finally, in terms of reading, there is an ambivalent route that runs between the paths of a very strong tradition, linked to the printed book, and digital reading, established from the point of view of practices, but in its more conservative and imitative side with respect to analogue formats; in the digital sphere, new proposals and more innovative initiatives which are attracting the attention of growing but still minority sectors of society are emerging. The digital environment is progressing and consolidating, but it has not yet taken advantage of all the potential that technological advances could provide.

The Social Systems Citation Theory (SSCT): A proposal to use the social systems theory for conceptualizing publications and their citations links

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:34:18 +0100

The normative theory of citing considers citations as rewarding tools to acknowledge the influence of scientific works, while the social constructivist theory of citing considers citations, for example, as persuasion tools used by authors to support their claims, and convince the scientific community that those claims are valid. Other citation theories and models have been proposed in recent years to overcome the limitations of the normative and social constructivist theories. Nevertheless, they have not been able to fully explain all citation motives of scientists (but have a certain focus). This study proposes a new theory (which we call “social systems citation theory”, SSCT) that integrates previous theories and models on publications and their citation links and is mainly based on Niklas Luhmann’s “social systems theory”. Luhmann’s social systems theory focuses on “communications” as the basic constituting elements of a social science system and not on humans and their motives. Humans are not part of social systems but are connected with them and irritate them. Thus, the social systems theory does not have the problem of integrating various and different motives of humans to cite in the science system. In the SSCT, authors’ motives to cite belong to psychic systems while publications and their citation links belong to the social science system. The systems operate autonomously but interact with each other: the social system operates recursively with publications and citation links. Although psychic systems stimulate or irritate the science system, they do not determine communications in the science system. In this study, we explain the SSCT and demonstrate how the theory can be used to underlie empirical bibliometric studies.

Twitter content curation as an antidote to hybrid warfare during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:33:45 +0100

Concern regarding information disorders has been magnified by the proliferation of social networks. Since its occupation of Crimea in 2014, Russia has been spewing disinformation both inside and outside its borders, giving rise to a hybrid conflict, which since 24 February 2022 has become an invasion. Faced with this flood of malicious information on social networks, fact-checkers assume the role of content curators, relying on contextualization, verification, and literacy improvement to reduce such noise. This work studies the Twitter activity of three Spanish fact-checkers (Newtral, EFE Verifica, and Maldito Bulo), to fight this new epidemic of disinformation. The sample (n = 397) was subjected to content analysis to study the evolution of the verifications and their reaction capacity, the purpose of their activity, the formats in which the content is presented, and their distribution and interaction as revealed by reactions on Twitter. The results reveal a rapid, albeit repetitive, response of the fact-checkers to the invasion, support from them to end the internationalization of hoaxes, a reliance on denials and contextualization rather than literacy improvement, unattractive formats, and a distribution and impact that demonstrate a greater reaction to sensational and emotive content.

Qualitative approach to the formalization of a professional podcasting culture. Evolution and trends

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:33:25 +0100

The podcast has expanded as a consumer product within the online audio ecosystem. The term has become popular, and its fame is increasing in the public sphere, whereas its definition and distinct identity, especially with respect to radio, are still being constructed. While different players, including large platforms and multimedia companies, are positioning themselves in this environment, a podcasting culture distinct from the original amateurism is also taking root. The aim of this paper is to explore the extent to which and in what way the routines and practices of creation, production, and distribution have been formalized to determine whether these processes are fostering a specific professional podcasting culture in Spain. Using semistructured in-depth interviews conducted with professionals linked to the podcasting sector, we aim to determine some of the practices that these players are starting to see as well-established within and unique to the industry, as well as those practices that have yet to become established. On the one hand, thanks to the increase in business volume and investment from production and distribution companies, the space for professionalization has been consolidated. The production standards and perceived quality of this audio content have been affirmed. On the other hand, definitions and categories related to this medium’s identity; the requirements with respect to understanding an audience, especially in its qualitative dimension; and the professional profiles and dynamics that must be established remain to be explored.

The daily news podcast ecosystem from the strategy and business model perspectives

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:33:06 +0100

The expansion of the daily news podcast format in the media industry has brought new narrative opportunities and shows the strength of the audio medium. For this reason, a qualitative analysis of the daily news podcast ecosystem has been performed from the strategy and business model perspectives through a comparative study of 14 cases (10 with media parent companies and 4 independent) in the Spanish-speaking segment using semi-structured interviews with the heads of the entities analyzed. The results reveal that daily news podcasts allow media outlets to improve their positioning by forming part of their audience’s routines, and create new revenue streams through sponsorships and brand agreements. Two editorial concepts have been identified: the in-depth analysis of a topic with support from the editorial department, and round-ups similar to radio news bulletins that cover the outlet’s informative key elements. The research also highlights audio initiatives by independent creators in specialized fields who shed light on the format’s potential for news narratives.

Podcast production and marketing strategies on the main platforms in Europe, North America, and Latin America. Situation and perspectives

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:32:30 +0100

Fifteen years after the term was coined, the podcast is now consolidated as a sound format with a specific identity within the digital media ecosystem. The practice of podcasting is none other than radio, but one encompassing diverse production on both expressive and thematic levels whose properties (mobility, narrative fragmentation, and the integration of multiple devices) and personalized consumption generate a very different listener attitude compared with traditional radio. After an initial period of independent amateurism strongly conditioned by the technologies available, the podcast has achieved significant global popular recognition, as well as an increasingly important professional dimension thanks to the emergence and spread of new distribution platforms (podcast networks) designed to serve as alternatives to the dominant feeds (such as Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, iVoox, and Spotify) that rely on different catalogs and business models. This investigation identifies, describes, and systematically orders the main management and marketing models for podcasts on these platforms on the basis of a comparative analysis of fourteen of them, two in each of the eight countries in Europe, North America, and Latin America where this format is most widespread: Acast (Sweden); Podimo (Denmark); Binge Audio and Majelan (France); Podimo Spain and Podium Podcast (Spain); PodcastOne and Luminary (USA); Convoy Network and Puentes (Mexico); Posta and Parque Podcast (Argentina); and Pia Podcast and Podway (Colombia). The study measures and compares the offerings of each of the studied platforms using different quantitative and qualitative variables (age, territorial reach, content categories, dominant genres, funding, and consumption). The objective is to start to draw up a global map of the main operators in the podcasting industry, and to identify the production trends and marketing strategies of a format with increasing impact and demand, destined to become the future heir of broadcast radio.

Big data in radio broadcasting companies: applications and evolution

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:31:59 +0100

The radio broadcasting industry is facing a process of profound digital transformation throughout which, over the last 20 years, the strategies to preserve the traditional business model have prevailed. The consolidation of platformization and datafication in the economic management of the media requires adaptation of the radio broadcasting sector’s structures, management models, and corporate culture. Through an exhaustive bibliographic review, nonparticipant observation, and in-depth interviews conducted with heads of the systems, sales and marketing, content, and digital and innovation departments of the three leading Spanish companies (Prisa Radio, Grupo COPE, and Atresmedia Radio) and the state public broadcaster (RNE), we seek to identify the functional areas of the radio broadcasting company in which big data (BD) has a greater potential for application, trying to establish the differences in its utilization in the analogue and digital business model. The results revealed that the degree of BD implementation in the Spanish radio broadcasting industry was significantly different between the private sector –which within the last 2 or 3 years has begun to introduce, very incipiently, big data management, applied primarily to the analysis of digital audiences, these users’ consumer behavior, and business management– and the public sector, which so far has not adopted these technologies on a systematic basis.

Spatial audio and immersive journalism: production, narrative design, and sense of presence

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:31:30 +0100

This article presents the findings from an experimental study on the use of binaural audio in two long-form journalistic features broadcast on Portuguese radio. From a production and narrative design perspective, our objective is to examine whether/how binaural audio implies a transformation of previously established news radio production work principles and practices, as well as of storytelling ideation and techniques. From a user experience viewpoint, we examine whether the use of binaural audio translates into higher levels of self-reported immersion and place illusion (n = 77). Despite the spread of new audio journalism formats, media and communication studies have until now largely neglected the role of spatial audio in the construction of immersion and the illusion of place. We argue that this epistemic omission translates into an image-centric conception and operationalization of the immersive journalism proposal, which stands out as a knowledge gap regarding the work of journalistic storytellers and relating to participants’ actual experience. The original contribution of this article is threefold: (1) conceptual, by broadening the perspective of journalism studies’ scholars and media professionals on the concept of immersive journalism, which, in our view, is often incorrectly considered to be synonymous with that of virtual reality journalism; (2) practical, by generating a more nuanced understanding of how actual practitioners perceive and employ immersive journalism; (3) phenomenological, by developing an examination of the factors that influence listeners’ ultimate perception of the immersive experience.

Internet radio and podcasts as alternative to the public service and commercial mainstream media in Poland: the cases of Radio Nowy Świat, Radio 357, and Raport o stanie świata

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:30:53 +0100

The aim of this article is to show to what extent alternative audio media can be built online, not only by amateurs but also as a combination of the energy and involvement of professional journalists and the community of listeners who are ready to support them. Moreover, the topic of the extent to which this form of production is similar to the model of alternative media produced by amateurs described by Hackett and Caroll (2006), as well as Atton and Hamilton (2010), is also discussed. Special attention is paid to the ways this can challenge the institutional media logic and provide an interesting alternative to pro-government public media and commercial mainstream media in a country in Central and Eastern Europe that is dropping down the rankings of the Democracy Index. The podcast Raport o stanie świata and two Internet radio stations, Radio Nowy Świat and Radio 357 from Poland, which are analysed in this article, were born in an act of protest against the negative changes in public service broadcasting, which became a propaganda tool. They are financed by listeners via the crowdfunding platform Patronite and do not broadcast advertising. A framework for analysing their functioning is devised using, in particular, theories of the public sphere and of alternative media. The study is based on content analysis of the call-in broadcasts disseminated for the first anniversary of the stations, Radio Nowy Świat (April 16 and July 9, 2022) and Radio 357 (January 5, 2022). Pre-structured interviews with the patrons of Raport o stanie świata are also used. Websites and social media accounts of these initiatives, as well as press coverage and data gathered by the National Broadcasting Council in relation to Polish Radio, are analysed as well. The research found that all three initiatives Raport o stanie świata, Radio Nowy Świat and Radio 357, despite being started by professionals, share some of the characteristics of alternative media and can significantly change the model of audio production, financing and consumption routines in Poland.

The value of podcasts to journalism: analysis of digital native media brands’ offerings, production and publishing in Spain

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:30:23 +0100

The growing popularity of podcasting is an opportunity for the news industry to identify new ways of delivering journa-lism and to find solutions to the challenges of digital transformation. Podcasts are tools that help the media adapt to the digital sphere by giving prominence to audio to extend their journalistic influence in the sonosphere. Given its disruptive nature, and since it breaks with the traditional content choices available, the analysis of this article focuses on what is offered in the form of podcasts by digital native media brands in Spain. It looks at the extent to which they are committed to this audio content and the type of journalism-based productions they promote and publish. To do this, a qualitative and quantitative content analysis methodology was used. This included an interpretation of data recorded in the Digital media map 2021 (Mapa de medios digitales 2021), updated as part of the Diginativemedia project (2019-2021). An in-depth study of a corpus –or sample– of 29 titles or series of podcasts published by 7 native news brands is also provided. These brands were selected because they publish podcasts and because, according to the Digital news report Spain 2021, they have the largest weekly reach among Spanish internet users. The results of the research show that only 1 in 4 digital media brands that offer podcasts (925) are native (232), and that it is the specialist native media outlets that are most committed to podcasting (140). Native media brands view podcasts as part of their journalism-based products and services, whose presence is beginning to grow as an exploration of their informative and expressive potential. In addition, it is podcasts that tackle current affairs using conversational formats –both audio and video– through serialised, original productions for the media outlet’s website and to provide a range of platforms.

Digital audio and programmatic ad buying: status and prospects in the post-pandemic context

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:29:46 +0100

This article examines the implementation of programmatic buying in the digital audio sector. The sustained growth present in the different markets helps the consolidation of this medium that brings enormous benefits to commercial communication. The main aim of this research is to understand the current situation of the programmatic audio advertising buying sector. In order to address the object of study, an exploratory approach has been carried out by applying a qualitative and quantitative methodology developed with professionals from the sector and supported by the collaboration of entities such as IAB and Programmatic Spain. The results show that there is a greater commitment by brands to invest in digital audio due to its flexibility and the ability to send segmented messages with greater effectiveness and consumer engagement. As a non-invasive medium, the inclusion of digital audio in media plans has a direct impact on listener’s attention. Data shows that there has been a significant increase in the consumption of streaming music, online radio, and podcasts. Nevertheless, investment is still focused on traditional radio and the results of the study show a reluctance to plan integrated campaigns. Moreover, the difficulty in measuring return on investment is a major deterrent to the investment attracted. Professionals interviewed say that the market provides transparency and quality guarantees, as opposed to other problems such as fraud in data measurement that have slowed down investment in the past.

Giants with feet of clay: the sustainability of the business models in music streaming services

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:29:07 +0100

This paper examines the sustainability of the recorded music industry from the perspective of music performers. Music streaming platforms, or digital music service providers (DMSPs), have changed the recorded music industry paradigm since the middle of the 2010s. Business models for performers have evolved from royalty agreements based on sales to more complex remuneration systems based on revenues from a combination of (ad-based) free and paid subscriptions. Previous research has mainly focused on the examination of the business models of streaming services from the point of view of the innovation players (digital platforms) and/or the traditional dominant intermediaries (record labels and publishers). However, not all innovation-driven transformations are sustainable. In this paper, we argue that the sustainability of the main business models in the music industry demands the consideration of the performers’ perspective. We combine a qualitative approach with primary and secondary data sources to investigate the sustainability of existing trends of business models and business practices for different categories of performers, including both monetary values and a description of how revenues are shared. We conclude that DMSPs foster an asymmetric value chain in which the creative players barely capture value while technology-based innovations increase the capability of DMSPs to generate and capture value. Finally, we outline some alternative business models looking for the long-term sustainability of the digital music marketplace.

Effects of advertising on problem gambling: Neural-cue reactivity as a possible underlying mechanism

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:28:29 +0100

Problem gambling has recently been reclassified as a non-substance-associated behavioral addiction. To the associated vital impact (family, social, labor, and economic), we must add its increasing incidence in recent years, which has led to prioritizing the problem from the point of view of public health. Although the effects of advertising on gambling behavior have been explored since the second half of the twentieth century, there is a lack of research regarding its underlying mechanisms. Thus, the objective of this review is to present an update on the effects of advertisements on gambling attitudes and behavioral intentions, as well as to present the neurobiological correlates of gambling-related cues as a possible hypothesis for this effect. Advertisements in various formats may act both as a precipitating factor and as a maintenance factor for the gambling disorder, changing both attitudes and beliefs about gambling. Activation of brain areas related to reward, such as accumbens nucleus, to memory, such as hippocampus or amygdala, and to executive functions could be the underlying mechanism of this effect. Also, ads promoting responsible gambling do not appear to be effective in reducing behavior or encouraging self-control, but the available evidence is scarce. Therefore, the number of studies on this topic needs to increase. In addition, the available evidence questions the effectiveness of responsible gambling policies to promote self-control in this population, as well as to reduce the negative impact of this disorder, so future research on neural-cue reactivity to gambling-related stimuli may serve to improve the design of advertising strategies that increase the impact of these messages.

Thanks for joining our life: Intimacy as performativity on YouTube parenting vlogs

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:27:55 +0100

YouTube is currently becoming one of the main international platforms for amateur creators attempting to attract followers through a multiplicity of audiovisual content and engagement strategies based on search and algorithmic recommendation systems. In many cases, this environment, and especially its users, try to adapt to a celebrity network pattern on the basis of the construction of seemingly authentic and close relationships, leading to relevant phenomena such as parenting vlogs. This kind of content is focused on the presence of intimate moments that reflect the daily life of influencers or micro-influencers, capturing large numbers of followers, as well as important communication and information strategies. From this perspective, and through a quantitative content analysis of 1,034 videos and more than 900 viewing hours on two very popular YouTube family influencer channels, this study explores the degree of intimacy portrayed in their video content as performative strategies that configure the profiles’ post through interactions with followers, brands, and self-promotion. The results suggest that the degree of intimacy shown in this content becomes a performative process for these family youtubers, whereby the more intimate the exposure, the more popular the information offered to the user. In short, this type of content prioritizes the routines of the youtubers, who include their closest family members and friends as a means of attracting attention, while dedicating their time to interacting with brands (advertising) and recording, editing, and submitting a vast amount of personal and private information on the platform (dissemination) in a sort of promotional–private performativity.

No habit, no listening. Radio and generation Z: snapshot of the audience data and the business strategy to connect with it

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:27:16 +0100

This article describes the most comprehensive study of the relationship between Generation Z and radio carried out in Spain to date, broadening the focus beyond data known from previous research and offering a structural view of the market from the perspective of media economics. An in-depth analysis of data previously unused in academic research, as well as interviews with the managers of various private radio companies (Ábside Media, Atresmedia Radio, Podium Podcast-Prisa Radio, and Grup Flaix), reveals the gradual loss of contact of Generation Z with this medium and highlights the characteristics of the low radio consumption by this cohort in Spain. Among other conclusions, the study identifies some of the factors which may prove relevant to attract this generation to content produced by radio companies, since there is the conviction that there is still time to reverse this situation. Examples include the development of exclusive digital content, brand maximization and community building, content designed and produced by Generation Z for Generation Z, the combination of paid and free access, and media literacy as a transversal public–private factor. This is a need that the sector must address as a whole.

The sound of responsibility: evolution of the use of radio advertising as a corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication channel before and after Covid-19. A significant increase

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:26:39 +0100

Radio is an audio communication medium that has always stood out for its credibility and close relationship to its audience, which makes it an appealing option for organizations that want to make their responsible behavior known. The Covid-19 pandemic has created a new landscape in which the strategic role of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the company has been strengthened and in which advertising messages are proving to be an interesting way of disseminating organizations’ responsible actions. Based on the quantitative content analysis of 562 radio advertisements taken from the three principal mainstream Spanish radio broadcasters and collected 2 years apart (2019 and 2021), this study seeks to find out whether the Covid-19 health crisis has led to changes in the use of radio advertising as a vehicle for communicating organizations’ CSR. To this end, the variables analyzed were the presence of CSR elements, advertiser, economic sector, CSR dimensions, beneficiary stakeholders, and communication area. The results show, among other data, that the communication of CSR through radio advertising has experienced significant growth after overcoming the worst moments of the pandemic. This growth indicates that companies are increasingly sensitive to issues related to CSR and that radio advertising has provided them with a way to publicize their socially responsible actions. It seems that corporations understand that credibility, trust, and a not inconsiderable penetration rate encourage the circulation of their CSR campaigns through the medium of radio.

Technology gap and other tensions in social support and legal procedures: stakeholders’ perceptions of online violence against women during the Covid-19 pandemic

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:26:06 +0100

As the Covid-19 pandemic intensified the digitisation of everyday lives and violent behaviours on many mainstream platforms, online violence against women raised renewed concerns. Across the literature, there has been an emphasis on survivors’ experiences and actions to cope with technology-facilitated abuse. Still, little is known about how people perceive the nature, the prevalence, and the impacts of harmful online behaviours and the appropriate social and institutional responses to tackle them. This article aims to help fill this gap. It presents a qualitative study on stakeholders’ perceptions conducted under the frame of a broader project which addresses the prevalence, nature and impact of online violence against women during the Covid-19 pandemic. Empirically, it draws on semi-structured interviews with Portuguese activists, police and law enforcement agents and different public and private service sector providers to explore perspectives on preventing, policing and coping with online violence. The findings expose several socio-technical challenges that prevent effective protection measures for victims and punitive consequences for perpetrators. They also suggest tensions in negotiating digital technology’s role in social support and legal procedures.

Radio does not die on the air: Podcasting and on-demand broadcast strategies among speech-based radio stations

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:25:29 +0100

In recent decades, speech-based radio stations in Spain, whose programmes have been aimed at the general public, have transformed their on-demand content broadcasting strategy by incorporating audio processes in the form of podcasts, followed by transmission through websites, aggregators and applications. The overall objective of this article is to provide a detailed account of the evolution and scope of the podcast as an on-demand distribution channel for speech-based Spanish radio broadcasters, and to reveal how this format is changing the approaches taken by the most prominent national radio stations [Cadena SER, COPE, Onda Cero, and Radio Nacional de España (RNE)], with special emphasis on prime-time morning shows. The methodology employed combines quantitative and qualitative techniques along with an analysis of the content uploaded to the website of these morning programmes, which are part of the weekly programming cycle, together with semi-structured interviews using closed-ended questions that have been given to the main heads of programming and digital areas of the broadcasters under study. The results show that radio stations have incorporated podcast distribution into their usual routine in order to give new life to the content emitted, with the aim of serving both traditional users as well as new generations of digitised native listeners. In addition, they process daily content in an increasingly systematic way, on the basis of a model of mixed management coordination between programmes and digital areas. Similarly, broadcasters have made considerable progress in the measurement and analysis of the time-shifted audience, as well as in broadcast multiplication techniques using push notifications, social media, and monetisation.

Are there biases in decisions to tweet on scientific papers? A plea for conducting an experimental Twitter study. Technical note

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:25:04 +0100

Twitter data are used as alternative metrics (altmetrics) to measure the impact or attention of research. Tweets are used to communicate about papers. However, Twitter data can only be used for research evaluation purposes, if biases do not influence tweet decisions on papers. The existence of biases can only be reasonably investigated using an experimental design with controlled (marginal) manipulations. In this comment, we propose to undertake an experimental approach to study the decision of scientists to ‘tweet’ on a paper. We describe the design of a study that might allow the experimental investigation of tweet decisions including randomized variations and theoretically derived mechanisms for explaining the empirical results. The described study design should be adaptable to other social media platforms (e.g., Facebook or ResearchGate). This comment is intended to be a plea for using an experimental design to investigate biases in tweet decisions. It is an advantage of tweets –in contrast to citations– that an experimental approach can be applied to investigate the decision of scientists to communicate on papers.

The (in)visibility of women in the press specializing in literature: an analysis of the presence of women writers in Spanish cultural supplements

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:24:44 +0100

This paper aims to dissect the presence of female writers in the main four cultural supplements of Spanish reference press: Babelia (El país), Cultura|s (La vanguardia), El cultural (El mundo) and ABC cultural (ABC). For this, we analyzed the “books of the year” recommended between 2010 and 2021 (n = 1,286), as well as the juries in charge of elaborating these ranks. The results show the subsidiary role reserved for women in this sphere of cultural informtion: they barely author 25.3% of the selected books, although some degree is progress is observed in the historical series, after going from 4.8% in 2011 to 37.8% in 2020. The increase in the presence of women in the juries has contributed to this phenomenon –the correlation between ratio of women in both lists being statiscally significant (rs = 0.647, p

Map of scientific research on Communication in Spain: study fronts and rankings of authors, publications and institutions

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:24:26 +0100

This work presents a current map of scientific research on Communication in Spain, identifying both the research fronts of the publications with the greatest impact over the last three years (2019–2021) and the authors who led such work and their universities of reference. The original methodology applied herein focuses on an analysis of the cited authors. After a careful selection process, we work with a corpus of more than 800 articles, using Scopus and the VOSviewer software to generate a co-referencing map and throw light on the structure of the Communication field. On the basis of that analysis, we identify nine thematic clusters, with a particular grouping structure, leading authors, and relationships around fields of study such as communication, democracy and power, audiences and media consumption, the media industry, journalistic practice, fact checking and disinformation, journalistic innovation, and SEO journalism. The ranking of cited authors, where Ramón Salaverría and Rasmus K. Nielsen hold equal first position and the Chilean Claudia Mellado is the only woman at the head of a strong group, is put into context by analyzing their scientific production and the normalized impact in Communication of their institutions. The comparative analysis reveals the elite Spanish authors in Communication (Xosé López-García, Ignacio Aguaded, Andreu Casero-Ripollés, Lluís Codina, and Ramón Salaverría) and shows how universities in Madrid maintain their importance in terms of production but that those in Catalunya have the lead in terms of impact. The research is completed with a map of keyword co-occurrence that confirms the barrage of studies around the Covid crisis and the parallel and growing number of hoaxes (fakes). The research confirms the relevance of and opportunity to apply scientometric techniques to the Communication field.

Body and diet as sales pitches: Spanish teenagers’ perceptions about influencers’ impact on ideal physical appearance

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:24:07 +0100

This project sits at the intersection of three axes: (a) influencers as the increasing focus of minors’ attention and trust online, (b) sponsored content about eating habits and physical appearance produced by these influencers, and (c) minors’ ability to discern and identify the persuasive intent of said content. The usefulness of analyzing the interplay of these three axes lies in the impact that consumption of this content has on minors’ self-esteem and on the adoption of certain habits that can directly impact their personal well-being. For this reason, this project seeks to provide insight into the social imaginary that influencers’ sponsored speech creates in minors regarding their physical appearance. To this end, a qualitative study with 12 focus groups of minors aged 11–17 years of age who reside in Spain was proposed. Notable among the key results was that the interviewees recognize that they primarily receive commercial messages about food and products related to physical appearance, such as makeup or clothing, from influencers; likewise, they are aware of persuasive tactics used on social networks, such as the construction of a perfect, aspirational world, which minors absorb and accept as part of the digital environment and end up incorporating into their behavior on social networks. This research aims to help demonstrate that teaching critical thinking is a long-term cultural investment that would make the citizens of tomorrow aware, engaged, and active.

Disinformation and hate speech toward female sports journalists

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:23:49 +0100

As well as democratizing access to information and strengthening active audiences, the internet also fosters the manipulation of news and the propagation of false and violent content. Although disinformation and hate speech are not new phenomena, they are now expanding out of control, with women, including journalists, among their targets. The aim of this study is to establish the characteristics and magnitude of this problem and determine how it affects Spanish female sports journalists while carrying out their professional activities in the world of sports, a field where male supremacy is evident. This study seeks to identify the most frequent situations where this problem occurs, the types of harassment observed, the profile of the perpetrators, and above all, the consequences for the professional and personal life of these female professionals. A mixed-methods approach is used to measure the extent of this problem and determine the experience and opinion of female sports journalists using an anonymous questionnaire. This qualitative approach is reinforced by in-depth interviews with female sports journalists who have been victims of hate speech. This dual approach enables the identification of paradigmatic models of a cognitive-behavioral nature, with findings that reveal disturbing figures. Indeed, 89.6% of the professionals participating in this study stated that they had been victims of hate speech and other forms of harassment, both through social networks as well as in their work environment, principally questioning their work capacity or mentioning their physical appearance. The profile of the perpetrators was revealed, as well as the perception that this type of aggression is a common practice that can lead to self-censorship. This situation requires that urgent measures be implemented to address this problem, such as the addition of media literacy and gender training to the educational curriculum.

A Spotify effect in new podcast markets. Combined model proposal for analysis of increasing interest in podcasting: The case of Turkey

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:23:19 +0100

Podcasts have been offered as a new service by digital music providers for several years now. The shift from Really Simple Syndication (RSS) distribution to central distribution channels has increased the interest in podcasts in low-consumption markets. This study aimed to examine the reasons for the recent increased interest in podcasts in Turkey. To analyze the growth in the popularity of podcasts, a model based on the technology acceptance model and the uses and gratifications theory was used, and a questionnaire targeting the users who listened to podcasts through Spotify, the most popular music streaming service in Turkey, was administered. According to the data obtained, the majority of the participants had first heard about podcasts through Spotify once they announced that they were offering podcasts as part of their services. The perceived ease of use in listening to podcasts served as the major factor behind listening motivations, perceived usefulness of the services, and attitude toward use. Therefore, although the popularization of podcasts in new markets seems to be associated with their unique content, the decisive factor driving the popularization of podcasts is actually more related to the ability podcasts offer users, who are faced with so many stimuli, to access the preferred content anytime and anywhere in a clear and straightforward manner.

How do legacy and digital media curate coronavirus content. An assessment of newsletters from the USA and four European countries

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:22:46 +0100

This study focuses on the curation of newsletters specialized in Covid-19 news from the mass media of France, Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the USA. The newsletters of 21 media outlets –15 traditional and six digital natives– were studied during the peaks of the pandemic in April and November 2020. The study follows an evaluative method of curation quality, based on the analysis of the following parameters: number of curated contents, time range, origin, sources –according to organization type and morphology–, authorship, sense-making techniques, and hyperlink informational function. The results identify the main characteristics of news curation in these newsletters and their differences from general newsletters, as well as the sources used, and also make it possible to establish curation quality standings and to identify differences between countries and among legacy and pure digital news outlets.

Twitter interaction between audiences and influencers. Sentiment, polarity, and communicative behaviour analysis methodology

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:22:31 +0100

Twitter is one of several social networks with the highest numbers of users in Spain. In spite of this, how are communicative relationships developed in the digital environment among influencers who have emerged on the Internet? These personalities have a stronger influence on children and young people than traditional celebrities. The aim of this work is to study the communicative interaction generated on the profiles of Spanish influencers with the most followers on Twitter, based on the number of content items generated and the responses they receive from users. The polarity and sentiment conveyed by these communications have also been analysed. By processing publications in real time using machine learning based on sentiment analysis, 48,878 tweets and retweets from five influencers were studied over a period of 40 days. The results show that the publications reached nearly 200 million followers, and despite being fourth in terms of the number of followers, @IbaiLlanos is the influencer who leads the conversations on Twitter with the highest number of tweets, retweets, and audience share. Among the most popular topics, sporting events stand out. This study has also confirmed that the most frequently stated emotion is surprise, and that positive messages prevail over those that are negative and neutral with regard to polarity. Nevertheless, the linear regression data has verified that the main trend is toward publishing negative messages, with a lower statistical correlation, which is a behaviour that might possibly be duplicated on other social networks.

Drivers and barriers in the transition to open science: the perspective of stakeholders in the Spanish scientific community

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:22:14 +0100

This paper presents the results of a research study whose objective was to identify the facilitating factors and barriers that, in the opinion of representatives of the Spanish scientific community, impact the implementation of the new open science model in four areas: open access, open research data, research assessment and open peer review. A qualitative study was designed in which information was obtained through interviews with researchers, editors of scientific journals, representatives of assessment agencies and vice-chancellors, and through a focus group of librarians with expertise in aspects of open science. The enabling factors and barriers identified were related to the researcher and the fruit of their research, as well as to the scientific ecosystem, which provides direct institutional support and backing (universities/research centres), the regulatory framework (management of the science system) and the science communication system (media). The results indicate that a shift in scientific practices toward the open science model can only be achieved if there is a policy framework that integrates all initiatives and links into the scientific assessment and reward system, and if the necessary funding is in place to support this transition.

Legal and criminal prosecution of disinformation in Spain in the context of the European Union

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:21:34 +0100

Disinformation poses a very important and growing risk to our society, either alone or in association with other hybrid threats, which is being addressed at both the international and European Union (EU) as well as national level. Within the EU, a multidisciplinary and cooperative approach has been advocated between all the actors involved, in contrast to the strong regulatory perspective traditionally adopted in the history of European integration within the EU framework. For this reason, together with the inherent limitations imposed by the nature of the right to freedom of expression and information on any possible administrative censorship or criminal punishment, Spain has adopted only one recent regulation (Decree PCM/1030/2020) to establish the Spanish procedure to combat disinformation as required by European directive. Moreover, although fake news cannot be prosecuted directly in Spain outside the scope of crimes against the market and consumers, fake news can include very different types of criminal offence depending on the content and the intention with which it is disseminated. We illustrate these possibilities through some recent judicial decisions on this matter and declarations by the Office of the Attorney-General. It remains to be seen whether this soft approach to combating disinformation will be sufficient to combat this new plague on our contemporary society effectively.

Understanding radio art reception

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:21:00 +0100

Radio art is understood as radio made by artists. The term is typically applied to sound-based artifacts produced and broadcast by means of the creative use of radio media affordances, infrastructure, and technologies. Radio art is known as any sound work conceived to expand the creative and aesthetic possibilities of the medium through the use of the elements of radiophonic language (voice, words, music, sound effects, and silence) with the intention to produce aesthetic messages and to move radio listeners. This study introduces radio art reception as a subject of scientific scrutiny. It proposes a model of radio art processing that includes involvement, art reception, and positive emotions as predictors of the willingness to listen to such works. After listening to each of two pieces of radio art, 126 Singaporean undergraduate communication students (MAge = 22.7, SD = 1.7) completed a questionnaire measuring involvement, art reception, perceived emotions, and willingness to listen to another radio art feature. The main results confirm our model of radio art reception: involvement predicts the audience’s cognitive stimulation generated by radio art, their artistic evaluation, and the positive attraction experienced by audiences towards them. The positive emotions experienced during consumption have a direct effect on the attraction towards radio art. Moreover, the specific radio art content affects the audiences’ responses. These results allow us to understand psychological responses to sound art. The hope is to attract the attention of communication and art researchers and invite them to deepen the existing knowledge about artistic sound through empirical studies, since debates about radio art and sound works are almost lacking from scientific literature.

Els primers anys. Estudis de Comunicació a la UAB. Antecedents i inicis (1971-1985) (Miquel de Moragas)

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:20:47 +0100

Los estudios universitarios de comunicación en España se iniciaron en 1971 con la creación de las facultades de ciencias de la información, y lo hicieron simultáneamente en Barcelona (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, UAB), en Madrid (Universidad Complutense de Madrid, UCM) y en Pamplona (Universidad de Navarra). Unos años después, en 1981, se creó la Facultad de Ciencias Sociales y de la Comunicación en la Universidad del País Vasco, a la que seguirían las facultades de la Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca (1988), Universidad de Sevilla (1989), Santiago de Compostela (1991), Málaga (1992) y Pompeu Fabra en Barcelona (1992). En la actualidad, cuando se conmemora el 50 aniversario de aquellas primeras facultades, la práctica totalidad de universidades de España ofrecen, en distintos formatos, estudios de comunicación.

Docencia e investigación en Comunicación en España (María del Mar Ramírez Alvarado; Jorge Clemente-Mediavilla, coords.)

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:20:22 +0100

La obra hace un recorrido por la historia, consolidación y crecimiento de las Facultades que imparten titulaciones de Comunicación en España. Es parte del trabajo editorial que se desarrolla desde la Asociación de Universidades con Titulaciones en Información y Comunicación (ATIC). Por una parte, se ofrece una perspectiva diacrónica que recoge el camino recorrido en Comunicación a través de una contextualización histórica de las Facultades; por otra, realiza una radiografía actual de las titulaciones que se ofertan, y del perfil del alumnado y profesorado. Se explica cómo se gestaron las facultades de Comunicación y por qué han sido y son relevantes para la consolidación de la estructura comunicativa en España. Los autores de este volumen son decanos y miembros de los equipos decanales de las Facultades integradas en ATIC; de ahí que la publicación tenga el valor de presentar, a partir del conocimiento efectivo y profundo que brinda la gestión universitaria, cómo funcionan y cuáles son sus características.

Spanish scientific output in Communication indexed on Web of Science: contextualization and presence in the Shanghai Ranking

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:19:44 +0100

The field of Communication in Spain is analyzed, contextualizing Spanish output at a global and local level between the years 2000 and 2020. Based on a descriptive bibliometric analysis of the Communication category of the Social Sciences Citation Index database, part of Web of Science, the impact of the main countries is identified. The weight of the output in the Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI) database between 2015 and 2020 is also studied. An analysis of the output by universities in Spain for the period 2010–2020 is also carried out, comparing it with the impact and the works in the first quartile. The results reveal that Spain has been the fourth country in terms of output in Communication in the last decade and that Austria stands out as the country whose works have the greatest impact. It is also observed that 67% of Spain’s works in Communication are published in journals that are indexed in ESCI. The impact of Spanish universities is very close to the world average. The Universitat Pompeu Fabra stands out, publishing the most articles and, furthermore, being the Spanish university with most papers in the first quartile of the JCR in Communication between 2010 and 2020. The study of the Shanghai Ranking by area includes eight Spanish universities, only three of which have output in Communication that comes mainly from professors in this area. The role of the Spanish journals Comunicar and Profesional de la información is notable, as they publish a large fraction of the output by Spanish universities in the Communication field. Finally, this paper presents the challenges of research in Communication, as well as those related to its bibliometric analysis, and a reflection on the problems that affect scientific production and research in this subject area.

Educational influence of knowledge of the masked presence of alcohol on Instagram on behavior change

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:19:30 +0100

The push strategy of anti-alcohol campaigns targeting young people, both in traditional media and on social media, has shown a limited capacity to contribute to the development of healthy behaviors. Even when young people know about the harmful effects of alcohol, they develop reactance attitudes, self-affirmation reactions, defensive responses, and neutralization of the persuasive attempts of institutional messages. It is necessary to seek new educational communication strategies that are effective in modifying behaviors favorable to alcohol consumption among young people. The aim of this research is to implement an educational method that favors this change toward healthy behaviors. On the basis of the Instagram campaign “Like my addiction,” 124 young people (age: M = 23.6 years, SD = 2.8 years) participated for 3 weeks in three phases to test whether the presence of alcohol on Instagram had an impact on their beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors, as well as the effectiveness of the educational method tested. Half of the subjects followed a process of becoming aware of the presence of alcohol in this Instagram campaign and then participated in an interactive process of discussion according to the critical–dialogical educational method. The results show that this educational method is effective. Subjects in the control group who did not follow the method did not modify their behavior on Instagram. In contrast, the experimental group became aware of the masked presence of alcohol on Instagram. These subjects exhibit self-persuasion that makes them modify their activity favorably between the pre-test and post-test phase as they change their attitudes and behaviors toward alcohol. The results show that the critical–dialogical formative method can be favorably applied to implement campaigns and educational actions to fight alcohol addiction among young people.

Effects of narrative-persuasive frames on Twitter regarding blood donation: pride versus empathy and people versus numbers

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:19:17 +0100

Blood donation in Spain is an altruistic, voluntary and unpaid process. Despite its social and health significance, this process has suffered a standstill in recent years that has been aggravated by the coronavirus pandemic. To promote the generation of new donors, it is necessary to carry out campaigns aimed at younger age groups to improve the information they have and reduce their fears. This research analyses the effectiveness of different frames of a persuasive narrative to increase blood donation. These frames have been constructed from two variables: an emotional appeal (empathy awakened by a recipient protagonist versus the pride experienced by a donor protagonist) and the identification of the beneficiary of the donation (identifiable victim versus generic beneficiary). The manipulated narratives incorporate features of edutainment and are adapted to the tone and language of the target population, young people, in the format of a Twitter thread. To test the effectiveness of these narratives, an experimental study was conducted among 600 participants aged 18–30 years. The results show the effectiveness of the emotional appeal, specifically in the threads that are led by a recipient of the blood donation. This appeal induces greater identification among people who perceive themselves as a little or somewhat similar to the protagonist. This outcome in turn positively affects information recall, the intention to share the message and the attitude towards donation, and reduces the perceived risk. All in all, it increases the donation intention. The data confirm a moderated mediation model with identification as a mediator and similarity as a moderator. On the contrary, no statistically significant effects were found regarding the second manipulated variable. No evidence was found that the use of an identifiable beneficiary in the donation appeal obtained better results than the call to donate supported by generic data.

Speakers’ expressions before and in a public presentation. Pleasantness, emotional valence, credibility, and comprehension effects

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:18:50 +0100

When a speaker engages in public speaking, the expression shown while delivering the speech determines the effectiveness of the communication and can be very influential in organizational settings. However, in public speaking, the audience can often see the speaker before the presentation begins. Therefore, the public could hypothetically gain an impression on the basis of the speakers’ expressions even before performing the presentation. With this idea in mind, the goal of this research is to analyze the influence of speakers’ expressions before delivering a speech and during the presentation. The study included two brown-haired/dark-eyed male and female and two blonde-haired/blue-eyed male and female presenters to investigate the effect of appearance and gender. A total of 200 participants looked at the speakers’ pictures with five different expressions before delivering the speech. They then watched videos with the same speakers and similar expressions while delivering the speech. The results showed that happiness was the most pleasant and positive expression, followed by confidence, indifference, shyness, and anger, when the participants watched the speakers before the presentation. However, confidence was considered the most pleasant, credible, and comprehensible expression, followed by happiness, anger, shyness, and indifference, while giving the speech. In both cases, female presenters were perceived as the most pleasant, and brown-haired/dark-eyed speakers were considered the most pleasant, credible, and comprehensible. The speakers’ expressions were perceived as more intense before the speech than during the discourse. This line of research helps understand the influence of these two crucial moments in presentations, and the results may be transferred into practice for public speaking training.

Perception of the leaders of the United States, the United Kingdom, and Spain in television conferences about Covid-19

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:18:34 +0100

The discourses of the political leaders about the Covid-19 pandemic have become central to many television networks. Many citizens follow these press conferences, as they can be affected by the government’s measures against the virus. Due to its importance, analyzing how these individuals perceive their political leaders in these television appearances is relevant to determining their influence. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the perception of the ex-President of the United States (Donald Trump), the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (Boris Johnson), and the President of the Government of Spain (Pedro Sánchez) in television conferences devoted to battling against the Covid-19 pandemic. After watching two videos of each leader, a gender-balanced sample of 360 citizens of these three countries (the United States, the United Kingdom, and Spain) evaluated the politicians’ attractiveness, credibility, and persuasiveness as well as the influence of these factors on the public’s attitude toward them and voting intention using an online survey. The results showed that the Spanish President, Pedro Sánchez, was considered the most attractive, credible, and persuasive leader with the most favorable attitude toward him and the highest voting intention, followed by the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, and the American politician, Donald Trump. Therefore, the most physically and vocally attractive leader with the highest credibility and persuasiveness achieved the most favorable attitude and the highest voting intention. The most influential variables of the structural model analyzed in this study were persuasiveness and credibility, which mainly affected the attitude toward the politician and, to a lesser extent, voting intention.

Characteristics of the Spanish podcast sphere. Between democratization and commercial logic

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:18:12 +0100

After an initial period characterized by experimentation, amateurism, small audiences, technological difficulties, and scarce funding, podcasting is now fully consolidated. The aim of this paper is to analyze the characteristics of the Spanish podcast sphere: its structural, personal, thematic, formal, economic, and dissemination aspects. To this end, a content analysis of 21 variables was applied to the 206 programs that attained the highest popularity in the general rankings of Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and iVoox during the first quarter of 2021. Along the structural dimension, the results reveal the preponderance of digital-native podcasts in comparison with previously broadcast podcasts, and of podcasts promoted by radio stations or those associated with networks over independent ones. Regarding the personnel involved, programs produced by professionals from the media or other cultural industries are more popular than those produced by amateurs, while those presented by men are more popular than those presented by women. Regarding their themes, content related to mystery and/or crime, history, entertainment, and emotional well-being predominates. In the formal sphere, the majority of programs are exclusively audio programs, produced weekly and in Spanish, with a limited presence of the other co-official languages in Spain. In terms of funding, the most common situation is production by media groups or podcast networks, followed by monetization on YouTube and offering additional services. Based on all this, the main conclusion of this study is that podcasting in Spain has abandoned the democratizing potential attributed to it by some theorists and researchers in its beginnings to become embedded in a largely commercial logic.

Mobile instant messaging techno-stressors: Measurement, dimensionality, and relationships with type of usage

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:17:28 +0100

Increasingly popular mobile instant messaging (MIM) apps allow users to interact anytime and anywhere with different purposes, such as coordinating work-related issues, staying in touch with people they love, or passing the time. But recent research suggests that MIM may create excessive demands on people and become a source of technostress. For example, users may experience communication overload, invasion of their face-to-face activities, pressure to respond to messages with urgency, or ambiguity regarding the intention or tone of their interactions. Building on these ideas, we develop a specific, multidimensional measure of MIM technostress and explore how it relates to different uses. To do so, we use survey data from a diverse sample of 1,259 residents in Spain. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses conducted on different halves of the sample supported a four-dimensional, second-level construct of MIM stress. Furthermore, structural equation model results suggest that not all uses are equally associated with MIM stress. Relatedness and intimacy uses were not positively related to MIM stress or any of its dimensions. Conversely, work uses, coordination of social activity, and even passing the time were positively associated with all techno-stressors. We discuss our findings with an eye toward promoting healthy use of MIM apps.

Photojournalism and Covid-19: representation and invisibility during the first confinement in Spain

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:17:01 +0100

The State of Alarm period declared by the Spanish Government due to the coronavirus crisis has had an exhaustive media coverage. However, it is observed how the visual story / narrative that has been published in the newspapers goes beyond the health field, focusing mainly on aspects of a social, political or economic nature. The types of images with the greatest presence in the representation of the harshest weeks of the pandemic determine the type of coverage, causing some relevant aspects to be minimized or invisibilized, and conditions the impact and the understanding of the severity of the disease in the society, in a particularly difficult and decisive moment such as the confinement of citizens. In the same way, the published images will have a later impact as a document by becoming part of the historical memory in the future. This article focuses on the analysis of the images published during the State of Alarm in three of the most relevant and broader scope national newspapers (El país, La vanguardia and El mundo), which is complemented by semi-directed interviews with several photojournalists who have covered Covid-19 during its first stage. The cataloging of the photographs in various categories is intended to observe the type of story that has been made visible of the Covid-19 (assessing the way in which this pandemic is being shown as an epidemic or syndemic), as well as to detect some of the most present and/or recurring visual representations and identify which are the most prominent absences.

The voice of journalism in social media: cartography and functions of the information media community manager as a new actor in journalistic communication

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:16:26 +0100

Within journalism, social media has become a vehicle of communication that keeps the audience up to date regarding the content they publish. To manage this relationship, the figure of the community manager, a professional directly linked to studies of Information Sciences, is indispensable, especially in Journalism and Advertising. A qualitative methodology is used on the basis of Grounded Theory in 13 telephone interviews with Spanish media community managers. The data were later treated and coded with the analysis tool Atlas.ti version 8.4.3. Journalistic community managers have quite varied functions and are in constant evolution. The perception that the quality of content published on social media has more weight than results (in the form of clicks and interactions) prevails in an environment where information is consumed at high speed, and where competence is more difficult to discern. Journalism does not have to turn to social media only as simple intermediaries for official websites; it must build up a community of users interested in the media and the current topics being disseminated. Despite communicative noise, digital platforms are perceived as positive and as an effective tool for the medium, keeping the audience informed through the community manager’s daily management as the voice of the medium.

The Role of social capital in education. Results of a survey on the individual social capital of school librarians

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:16:12 +0100

Schools and school libraries play a vital role in the formation of the attitudes and behaviours of young people. Adolescence is an important period of acquisition of knowledge, socialisation, development of artistic sensitivity and enculturation, which an individual will use for the rest of his or her life. The competencies and attitudes of school and school library personnel may significantly affect the development of children and youth. It seems relevant, then, to examine their social attitudes and the level of their social capital. The paper presents the results of a survey conducted among school librarians in 20 countries around the world. The survey examined the level of their individual social capital, social attitudes and civic attitudes. According to its results, school librarians have an average level of individual social capital; however, their social capital, social activity and civic engagement are among the lowest compared with the personnel of the other types of libraries.

Current affairs on TikTok. Virality and entertainment for digital natives

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:15:49 +0100

Since its appearance in 2018, TikTok has become one of the most popular social media platforms among digital natives because of its algorithm-based engagement strategies, a policy of public accounts, and a simple, colorful, and intuitive content interface. As happened in the past with other platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, various media are currently seeking ways to adapt to TikTok and its particular characteristics to attract a younger audience less accustomed to the consumption of journalistic material. Against this background, the aim of this study is to identify the presence of the media and journalists on TikTok, measure the virality and engagement of the content they generate, describe the communities created around them, and identify the presence of journalistic use of these accounts. For this, 23,174 videos from 143 accounts belonging to media from 25 countries were analyzed. The results indicate that, in general, the presence and impact of the media in this social network are low and that most of their content is oriented towards the creation of user communities based on viral content and entertainment. However, albeit with a lesser presence, one can also identify accounts and messages that adapt their content to the specific characteristics of TikTok. Their virality and engagement figures illustrate that there is indeed a niche for current affairs on this social network.

Coverage and distribution of altmetric mentions in Spain: a cross-country comparison in 22 research fields

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:15:34 +0100

Since their formal proposal in 2010, various studies have been carried out on altmetrics from different perspectives and at different levels. However, the problem of the country-specific differences found in such studies has not been addressed in depth and considering the wide range of social media sources. This paper presents a cross-country comparison of altmetric coverage between Spain and a selection of 16 countries (EU-15 and the United States) in 22 research fields. All Spanish publications indexed in Web of Science that were published between 2016 and 2020, as well as all mentions of their altmetrics collected on Altmetric.com, were retrieved. The results show that, of the 434,827 Spanish publications considered, 55% are found on Altmetric.com. General altmetric coverage in Spain is similar to that in the rest of Europe and the United States, but it is in areas such as Arts & Humanities and Social Sciences where the lowest levels of coverage are found, although in the case of the latter the publications receive a higher number of mentions. Spanish publications reach a total of 3,569,553 mentions from different social media platforms, but Twitter is the main source of these mentions, accounting for 89%. Differences between research fields are also found, such as Environment & Ecology receiving a higher number of policy mentions.

Profiling the most highly cited scholars from China: Who they are. To what extent they are interdisciplinary

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:15:20 +0100

Since the beginning of the 21st century, an increasing number of Chinese researchers have joined the ranks of the world’s top scientists. Some international organizations have observed this phenomenon and ranked the world’s top Chinese researchers. However, investigation of highly cited interdisciplinary research (IDR) scholars is insufficient, although IDR tends to have a greater social impact. Looking at the top 2% of the world’s Chinese scholars, this study analyzes the structural attributes of IDR by those top scholars in detail using network analysis, cluster analysis, block modeling, and quadratic assignment procedure analysis. The results show that the proportion of highly cited scholars in technical categories is higher than in social categories. The fields of artificial intelligence and image processing, oncology and carcinogenesis, plus neurology and neurosurgery serve as bridges across disciplines, with materials, energy, and artificial intelligence and image processing having higher eigenvector centrality. The field of social sciences has the widest range of IDR activities, but cooperation within this field is low. Forty-two of the world’s first-class universities are in China, and of the world’s top 2% scholars who come from China, 46.3% work for these institutions. The research themes of highly cited academics from World First-Class universities in China are most similar to the themes of scholars from universities in China with first-class academic disciplines. There are differences between non-university and university scholars in terms of research topics. It is suggested that the government can promote a triple-helix effect (public institute, industrial enterprise, and research school) so that organizations of different natures can produce synergistic effects.

Astroturfing as a strategy for manipulating public opinion on Twitter during the pandemic in Spain

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:15:05 +0100

This work aims to establish whether astroturfing was used during the Covid-19 pandemic to manipulate Spanish public opinion through Twitter. This study analyzes tweets published in Spanish and geolocated in the Philippines, and its first objective is to determine the existence of an organized network that directs its messages mainly towards Spain. To determine the non-existence of a random network, a preliminary collection of 1,496,596 tweets was carried out. After determining its 14 main clusters, 280 users with a medium-low profile of participation and micro- and nano-influencer traits were randomly selected and followed for 103 days, for a total of 309,947 tweets. Network science, text mining, sentiment and emotion, and bot probability analyses were performed using Gephi and R. Their network structure suggests an ultra-small-world phenomenon, which would determine the existence of a possible organized network that tries not to be easily identifiable. The data analyzed confirm a digital communication scenario in which astroturfing is used as a strategy aimed at manipulating public opinion through non-influencers (cybertroops). These users create and disseminate content with proximity and closeness to different groups of public opinion, mixing topics of general interest with disinformation or polarized content.

Analysis of the Twitter communications of the Spanish Armed Forces and State Security Forces: an empirical model

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:14:50 +0100

Social networks have become a major communication channel for organizations, including those focused on security and defense. This article specifically examines how the Spanish Armed Forces and State Security Forces communicate on Twitter, with the aim of analyzing the factors that influence engagement with their tweets. A model validated with a sample of 14,540 tweets shows the role that a series of variables related to rational and emotional communication attributes has. These variables are estimated utilizing techniques such as Python and VBA. Subsequently, a logistic model using IBM SSPS estimates the effect of each variable on the probability that a tweet will lead to more or less engagement. The results show that followers of military accounts, such as the Army, tend to have higher rates of interaction than followers of other accounts, even though military accounts have fewer total followers than police accounts. Furthermore, the results confirm the importance of using both rational and emotional stimuli for a message to be effective. To increase engagement, information provided by organizations should use elements such as hyperlinks, emojis, and photographs, and refer to topics that appeal to individuals’ emotions, such as patriotism.

Structural analysis and evolutionary exploration based on the research topic network of a field: a case in high-frequency trading

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:14:36 +0100

This study aims to systematically analyze the distribution dynamics of research topics and uncover the development state of the research in the specific field, which will provide a practical reference for developing professional subject knowledge services in the era of big data. The research topic network is constructed and analyzed using methods and tools of scientometrics. Basic statistics on network characteristics are performed to reveal the research status. Community detection, node ordering, and other steps are conducted to generate the evolutionary alluvial diagram. Then, relevant results are analyzed to explore the knowledge structure of the specific field and evolutionary context of research topics. Visualization analysis on the network structure of the latest period is executed to distinguish related concepts and predict the research trends. Taking high-frequency trading (HFT) as a case, this study achieves diversified scientometrics analysis of the research topic network and multi-dimensional evolution exploration of the relevant research topics in the specific field, which obtaining some knowledge insights. (1) Six major topics in HFT: liquidity & market microstructure, market efficiency, financial market, incomplete market, cointegration & price discovery, and event study. (2) The research focus about markets gradually transferred from international to emerging, meanwhile continuous attention to volatility/risk related issues. (3) The emphasis will change from theory to practice, technologies (big data, etc.) and theories (behavioral finance, etc.) will have more interaction with HFT. An effective research idea is proposed to reveal the knowledge structure of field and analyze the evolutionary context of research topics, which demonstrating the knowledge insights.

Audio identity in branding and brand communication strategy: a systematic review of the literature on audio branding

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:14:18 +0100

Brand creation and management has undergone a substantial change in recent years as a result of new communication strategies, adaptation to the digital transmedia paradigm, and interaction with consumers. The use of an audio identity as a variable in this architecture and its inclusion in the different points of contact with consumers has generated a growing interest in audio branding. This article responds to the need to establish a conceptual basis and the state of the art in order to advance in the in-depth study of the discipline through a systematic review of the literature. This review was carried out in the Web of Science databases for the 2011–2020 period. After the initial filtering, a total of 36 articles were analysed and divided into four areas of relevance: phonetics in brand names, audiovisual advertising and branding, local city or country branding, and political branding.

Technology and democracy: the who and how in decision-making. The cases of Estonia and Catalonia

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:13:57 +0100

This paper focusses on the use of technology to improve democracy, comparing the cases of Estonia and Catalonia. Both examples are closely related in their use of technology to further democratize the decision-making processes, but have opposite starting points. Estonia’s internet voting system is an offshoot of the comprehensive e-governance system developed by the Estonian government. It is meant to make it more convenient for people to vote and, thus, easier for them to take part in elections. In Catalonia, the online participation system Decidim, initially set up in the city of Barcelona, represents a bottom-up project that emerged from the 15 May protests and aims to make the representative democratic system more direct and participatory. In our comparison we approach both paradigmatic cases from a theoretical reflection on the ideal types of democracy in relation to how decisions are made and by whom. Both projects have evolved and integrated new features that draw them together. First, internet voting is able to reach wider portions of society and digitally transform the Public Administration. Second, online participation platforms increase the potential for collecting citizens’ proposals and enriching discussions. These features make them more like a mixed model which, in the current model of representative democracy, creates spaces for a more direct and deliberative democracy.

Media and social communication in the context of Colombian crisis, polarization and nonconformism

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:13:39 +0100

The communication industry in Colombia has promoted over the last decade a process of transformation and design of new proposals in both traditional media and digital natives, a range of operational strategies to distribute textual, sound, and visual formats through the social networks, adapting the content to the particularities and attributes of each one of them. The irruption of the implementation of the peace accords, the pandemic and citizen nonconformity taken to the streets have served to verify the real dimension of this reconfiguration, as well as its effectiveness in terms of credibility and scope in the face of an unprecedented scenario that has transformed the social and cultural interaction of citizens through technology. This research focuses on the response of Colombian journalistic agents to the demand for information during the period 2019, 2020 and 2021, from a mixed quantitative-descriptive methodology that allows identifying, quantifying, and assessing the relationship between newspapers, radio stations and television channels with the new platforms. The corpus of the study is made up of the publications on social networks of the Colombian media with the greatest circulation according to the Colombian Association for Media Research: two newspapers (El tiempo and El espectador), five radio stations (Caracol radio, W radio, Blu radio, RCN radio and La FM) and the news from the two television networks with the highest audience (Noticias Caracol and Noticias RCN). The results of the study show a reinforcement of the brand of the journalistic company as a reference for information and credibility, however, the current situation has not served to legitimize the role of journalists in social networks and has underlined the fragility of a media ecosystem highly exposed to polarization, manipulation, and mistrust.

Injecting disinformation into public space: pseudo-media and reality-altering narratives

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:13:24 +0100

This paper analyses the context of disinformation in Spain from the perspective of the pseudo-media (i.e., websites that mimic conventional media to offer partisan content based on alternative facts). Using a quantitative (N = 1,143) and qualitative (n = 396) methodology, this research analyses publications from eight Spanish pseudo-media that reach more than 4 million unique users. Results reveal an interest in three topics: vaccination, restrictions and speculation about Covid-19, national politics –focused on criticism against government– and topics related to human rights –mainly LGBTI, gender, immigration– with a total of 58.1% of the content published in four sections (International, Spain, Society, and Economy). The study reveals a growing trend towards polarisation and the use of clickbait techniques in four out of ten headlines. The Internet and social media are the most common sources quoted, while a third of the items lack sources or correspond to opinion pieces. Minorities and vulnerable groups are framed as a social threat, and the presentation of the coalition government as a danger to Spain that must be put to an end, which makes the discourse of these websites in tune with the ideology of the far right wing.

The emergence of populism in Spain: metaphorical frames of Vox and its online community during the 2019 parliamentary elections

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:13:03 +0100

In the context of the political instability shown by the calling of four general elections between 2015 and 2019, the populist party Vox gained parliamentary seats for the first time in a country that, thus far, had always remained outside of European trends. When populism, and especially the presence of far-right parties, are taken into account as a potential barometer of the health of representative politics, it is paramount to understand how these organizations build their discourses and spread them on social media. To identify the main ideas that guided Vox’s online campaign and how its community is defined, we analyzed both the morphology of the community (n1 = 1,674,681) and discourses on Twitter during the two 2019 campaign periods. The samples used (n2 = 511, n3 = 746) are made up of all the tweets posted by Vox, its presidential candidate Santiago Abascal, and the main profiles of the online community. We used critical metaphor analysis, which allows us to qualitatively approach the content of the messages and establish whether the characteristic features of populist political communication are present. The results show that, in both campaigns, the organization’s strategy was developed from the metaphorical frames of “the progressive dictatorship” as opposed to “living Spain/tradesmen/the Spain of common sense,” threatened by “wild immigrants,” “coup plotters,” and “fake media.” This framework was partially distributed among its online community.

Third-order election. Spanish political parties’ communication on Facebook during the 2019 European Parliament election campaign

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:12:45 +0100

The 2019 European Parliament elections were held in Spain in a context of political fragmentation and polarisation, following the recent incorporation of the extreme right into the national parliament. Elections to the European Parliament are considered second-order elections and are sometimes used by citizens to cast a punishment vote, favouring new political actors of a contestatary character to gain visibility. Social media networks such as Facebook play an important role because they offer these parties a space where they can disseminate their messages on equal terms, beyond media control. This study conducts a content analysis of the posts published on Facebook by Spanish national political parties in the month prior to the 2019 local, regional and European elections. The main goal is to analyse the communication strategy used by Spanish political parties in this social media, in order to find out the importance given by the parties to the European elections and whether there are differences in strategy at each level. The results reveal that the European elections are a third-order election for Spanish parties, behind local elections. Most parties practice a dual campaign, in which the topics, goals and emotions posted on Facebook vary according to the political level at which they are targeted. This tendency is more pronounced in populist parties and seems to be shaped by the national political context and aimed at matching the concerns of Spaniards at the European level. Despite the incorporation of the extreme right into the Spanish political chessboard, the negative Eurosceptic discourse is only present in the two populist parties and does not affect the rest of the political forces.

Profile of digital slow journalism audiences in Argentina, Colombia, and Mexico

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:12:32 +0100

The aim of this work is to study slow journalism audiences, with a particular interest in Latin America, specifically Argentina, Colombia, and Mexico. Five case studies were carried out, covering Anfibia (Argentina), Arcadia (Colombia), Gatopardo (Mexico), La silla vacía (Colombia), and Letras libres (Mexico), along with a Delphi study (double round with 27 participants) and a structured questionnaire (of 1,500 people between the ages of 18 and 65 years). The results indicate that 75% of the surveyed population obtain their information from all kinds of digital media, among whom 84% use social media for this purpose. Slow journalism is still mainly unknown to a large fraction (17%) of the population, although once given its definition and some named examples, 40% of those surveyed claimed to have read the slow press at some time. Quality is the main reason for its consumption (62%), followed by searching for specific subjects (46%), especially for young people (65%) and in Colombia (52%). Experts in slow journalism agree that the key to consolidating an audience involves listening to and interacting with its members, together with their active participation in the media.

Communicative frames in the online strategy of European political parties during the coronavirus crisis: a polyhedral look at the far right

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:12:17 +0100

The current debate in the academic sphere regarding the role of extreme right-wing parties during the coronavirus pandemic extends to its communicative aspect. While some authors argue that these parties have focused their messages on the perspectives of fear, the threat represented by immigrants, or conspiracies in an unsuccessful way, even considering them to be the “losers of the crisis,” others emphasize their ability to build a sense of community through resilience. The present research aims to take up these discussions and delve deeper into the study of the communicative frames of European political parties, with a particular focus on the far right, to draw more nuanced conclusions. For this purpose, a double methodology has been implemented through the coding of the frames used in a total of 2,757 Twitter posts during the month of March 2020 from the major government and extreme right-wing parties in Germany, France, Spain, and Poland. The results show that the parties studied present differences in their communicative frames, not according to their position on the ideological spectrum, as might be expected, but rather to their role as the executive power in the government or as part of the opposition of their respective legislative chambers.

The video game as an information literacy tool for university students

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:12:01 +0100

Video games are useful learning tools in different fields. This work seeks to evaluate, through a self-developed video game, their usefulness as a learning tool for the information literacy of undergraduate students. The videogame “The last exam” was developed after the analysis of 1,639 user queries registered over 2 years at the Complutense University Library, and aims to answer queries common to other university libraries. To evaluate its impact, a single-group pilot experiment was carried out with 14 undergraduate students using a pre-test/post-test validated by experts. The results show significant improvements in the students’ information skills, as well as positive evaluations of the exercise. We conclude that the incorporation of video games as a complement to the content of library training programs can be beneficial, especially as an introduction or for reinforcement or evaluation.

The Internet, populism, and deliberative democracy: A panel study of 167 countries from 2000 to 2018

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:11:45 +0100

The wide adoption of the Internet gave rise to populism, which is regarded as a critical threat to deliberative democracy. This paper was a cross-national panel study to explore the Internet’s populist impacts on deliberative democracy. It had two specific objectives. One was to examine whether or to what extent Internet penetration has populist impacts on deliberative dimensions, including reasoned justification, common good, respectful counterarguments, range of consultation, and engaged society. The other was to examine how Internet penetration moderates a country’s formal deliberative process, referring to the interaction among state institutions, the public sphere, and civil society. Using data from Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) and the United Nations, we run panel analyses with a sample of 3,173 units in 167 countries from 2000 to 2018. The results showed that Internet penetration increased calls for the common good, disrespected counterarguments, narrowed the range of consultation, and expanded engagement in public deliberation. In addition, Internet penetration strengthened the effects of public sphere on reasoned justification and range of consultation, but weakened the effects of civil society on reasoned justification, common good, respectful counterarguments, and range of consultation.

Bringing journalism back to its roots: examining fact-checking practices, methods, and challenges in the Mediterranean context

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:11:31 +0100

The rise of fact-checking as an innovative tool aimed at improving democratic well-being has become a transnational movement in journalism. In June 2021, the Duke Reporters’ Lab database features 341 such initiatives around the world, including 33 active fact-checking projects in countries pertaining to the Mediterranean or Polarized Pluralist Model (Hallin; Mancini, 2004). Following previous research on fact-checking in other territories, this qualitative study expands the understanding of how this practice is performed by four platforms of countries belonging to this journalistic culture: Maldita.es (Spain), Les Surligneurs (France), Observador (Portugal), and Pagella Politica (Italy). Through in-depth interviews with their decision-makers, this work offers a deep understanding of the structure, agenda, practices, and values, the role of the public, and the challenges that these organizations face. Normally run by small but multidisciplinary teams, the studied initiatives show high levels of transparency and a tendency for continuous improvement and professionalization despite their limitations. Following the example of leading initiatives in the USA, the UK, Latin America and Europe, the analyzed organizations cover a wide range of thematic areas and make use of the latest digital tools. They employ robust methodologies when selecting the content they verify, consult an extensive range of sources, and set various control filters before publication, which proves their commitment to transparency and accountability. Furthermore, they guarantee the right of reply and are widely open to public participation and broader dissemination of their work through mainstream media. From difficulties in accessing public information to scarcity of resources and increased competition, fact-checking platforms in the Mediterranean context face major challenges that have forced them to rethink their role and find new revenue streams. These organizations highlight the need to enhance the impact of fact-checking among citizens, journalists, and politicians and, ultimately, to go back to the roots of journalism.

Viralizing the truth: predictive factors of fact-checkers’ engagement on TikTok

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:11:17 +0100

Disinformation is one of the great challenges threatening the health of the public space and democratic systems, which must be based on truth to facilitate decision-making by citizens. For this reason, the fight against fake news has attracted attention from professionals and researchers during the last five years. In the journalistic field, numerous fact-checking outlets have been established. They use the media at their disposal and, above all, social networks to make verified content visible. TikTok, an emerging social video platform (very popular among the youth population), is the latest tool to be explored by fact-checkers to make the truth public. In this context, this paper aims to (1) determine the characteristics of fact-checkers’ videos that drive their engagement on TikTok and (2) identify the factors that predict the number of likes, comments, views, times shared, and engagement rate of such content. All the videos published on this platform by the Spanish fact-checkers Maldito bulo and Newtral (n = 320) during the first 26 months of activity of both outlets were analyzed. Bivariate correlational studies, multiple linear regression, and binary logistic regression tests were applied. The type of content (verification versus explanation) has a greater impact on engagement than the topics of the videos. Verifications multiply the probability of a content getting an above-average number of likes, by 2.42. If the video is hosted by a woman, it doubles its chances of getting an above-average number of shares. Our results provide other valuable data that can help fact-checkers make their content more easily spreadable.

Brussels will pay for everything. The shaping of the European public sphere before NextGenerationEU

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:11:03 +0100

The Covid-19 pandemic meant challenges in crisis management for democratic institutions such as the European Union (EU). To achieve an economic and social recovery to the crisis, the EU institutions have promoted the NextGenerationEU (NGEU) program, a massive recovery package for this purpose. This action takes place at a time of strong visibility of Euroscepticism within a global phenomenon of distrust in political authorities. The present work aims to know the shaping of the European Public Sphere when NGEU is launched. First, the evolution of EU support during the pandemic is described, analyzing the possible factors that influence on this variable. On this matter, a secondary analysis of data is applied on different waves of the Eurobarometer (EB 92, 93, 94 and 95). The statistical method is also used to give items that determine the image of the EU. Moreover, the communicative dissemination of this plan is drawing upon semi-structured interviews with some of the professionals who deal with the task. The objective is to provide an overview of how the public sphere made up of citizens and institutions is defined before a moment of symbolic relevance. The results reveal a trend towards greater positivity with the EU after the pandemic. However, among other possible factors, the degree of support depends on the ideological position and, to a lesser extent, on the type of community where the citizens live. EU officials assess this rise of Europeanism as an opportunity, targeting the NGEU communication campaign especially at young people.

Identification and analysis of digital reading detachment factors in the academic environment: a critical review of literature

Scipedia content — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:10:50 +0100

The factors that predetermine and condition reading practices in the digital environment are one of the hottest and most productive research objects. This article studies the factors and contexts that produce rejection of or detachment from the adoption of digital compared with printed texts in the educational environment. For this, a systematic review of the literature was carried out through a critical analysis of the most relevant works addressing this issue from 2005 to the present day. By applying the methodology proposed by Petticrew and Roberts, a sample (n = 28) synthesizing the most relevant findings published to date in relation to the object of study was selected. The results obtained enable us to identify a series of key factors that predetermine the rejection of digital reading that can be ascribed to three essential categories (esthetic, physiological and cognitive, and pragmatic) and nine subcategories (sensory, emotional, complexity of the text, comprehension and retention, physiological aspects, ergonomics, frailty and dependency, accessibility, and interoperability). The research concludes that, although convergence and progressive assimilation in the adoption of digital texts in the educational environment can be observed, there are certain factors that condition the level of acceptance of digital compared with printed reading, and they are perceived as conditioning factors that may hinder the teaching–learning process.