Documents published in Scipedia

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

  R. Rivas-de-Roca, M. García-Gordillo

  El profesional de la información (2022). Vol. 31, (3), 34

  
  

  Abstract

  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.

  Abstract
  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 [...]

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

  L. Mastrobattista, J. Merchán-Sánchez-Jara

  El profesional de la información (2022). Vol. 31, (2), 33

  
  

  Abstract

  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.

  Abstract
  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 [...]

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• The most prominent journalistic innovations in Spain (2010-2020): organizational, industrial and social characteristics and impact

  M. Carvajal, D. Mondéjar, J. Valero-Pastor, A. De-Lara, J. García-Avilés, F. Árias-Robles

  El profesional de la información (2022). Vol. 31, (3), 32

  
  

  Abstract

  The emergence of new players and technological platforms, changes in consumer habits, and the transformation of the digital ecosystem accelerated the process of journalistic innovation in the last decade (2010-2020), emphasized by the Covid-19 pandemic. Journalism has undergone a process of permanent change, affecting practices, products, and professionals. In this context, this study identifies the most prominent journalistic innovations, describes their characteristics, and analyzes their impact in terms of the value provided in organization, their scope in the industry, and their contribution to society. To achieve this, semistructured interviews were conducted with a group of experts (n = 22) made up of academics and professionals. Once the innovations (n = 60) from a total of 253 references were coded and added up, the scope of these changes in the organizational, industrial, and societal  fields was analyzed to obtain a list of the 20 most relevant. The results indicate that innovation emerges incrementally in how journalism is produced, organized, distributed, and sustained. Some innovations have substantially influenced organization and society, such as the membership model or fact-checking; however, they are still far from being widely adopted in the industry. Data journalism has been catalogued as the most relevant journalistic innovation because it implies changes in production, generates quality journalism, and encourages its implementation by other representatives in the sector.

  Abstract
  The emergence of new players and technological platforms, changes in consumer habits, and the transformation of the digital ecosystem accelerated the process of journalistic [...]

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• Transparency of government healthcare websites: a predictive model based on the main public administrations of Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Spain

  D. Barredo-Ibáñez, P. Molina Rodríguez-Navas, V. Rodríguez-Breijo, N. Medranda-Morales

  El profesional de la información (2022). Vol. 31, (1), 31

  
  

  Abstract

  Transparency and public accountability are two essential aspects of public administrations because they help to prevent possible cases of corruption and encourage citizen participation. In this sense, transparency is a communicative, not merely administrative or legal, process between public institutions and citizens. The main objective of this study is to identify predictive factors of transparency in government healthcare centers in Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Spain in 2021. To do this, we analyzed the websites of 64 public administrations from these countries. Content analysis was applied to assess the presence of 24 indicators on each website. The results for the studied cases reveal an association between the level of transparency and three factors: healthcare systems, internet access, and administration levels. We also identified a predictive factor that should be considered in future studies on the transparency of healthcare websites: the likelihood of decreased transparency was reduced by 91% for public healthcare systems (Ecuador and Spain) as opposed to mixed public –private healthcare systems (Chile and Colombia). We thereby conclude that the involvement of the State, at least in matters related to the healthcare field, favors greater access to information by the community, at the same time as providing greater social responsibility because of substantial communication of the activities carried out by these centers, as well as how and by whom.

  Abstract
  Transparency and public accountability are two essential aspects of public administrations because they help to prevent possible cases of corruption and encourage citizen [...]

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• WhatsApp and audio misinformation during the Covid-19 pandemic

  G. Cardoso, R. Sepúlveda, I. Narciso

  El profesional de la información (2022). Vol. 31, (3), 30

  
  

  Abstract

  Given user choices and the commercial offerings of internet providers, WhatsApp has increasingly become established as a new standard for communication by audio, image, and text. This paper explores the role of misinformation during the Covid-19 pandemic by using content disseminated through WhatsApp, thereby making three main contributions: a discussion about the potential shift toward nontextual and nonvisual forms of misinformation; the new social role of audio, namely related to the critique of policies and political actors during the early stage of the Covid-19 pandemic; and the questioning of the First Draft News disinformation conceptual model by proposing a complementary approach that focuses only on factuality. Conclusions were drawn after conducting a content analysis of 988 units of Covid-19-related audio files, images, videos, and texts shared via WhatsApp during the early stage of the pandemic. A typology was identified to address distinct claims that focus on five different topics (society, policy and politics, health science, pandemic, and other), as well as audio messaging trending as a novel format for spreading misinformation. The results help us to contextualize and discuss a potential shift toward nontextual and nonvisual forms of misinformation, reflecting the increasing adoption of the audio format among WhatsApp users and making WhatsApp a fertile environment for the circulation and dissemination of misinformation regarding Covid-19-related themes. In a society characterized by the rapid consumption of information, the idea that content must have a degree of falsehood to mislead is an indicator of the distance between theoretical models and social reality. This indicator is important to identify true content as potential misinformation on the basis of its factuality.

  Abstract
  Given user choices and the commercial offerings of internet providers, WhatsApp has increasingly become established as a new standard for communication by audio, image, and [...]

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• Promotion of reading in the digital society: the book-trailer of the illustrated nonfiction book as a virtual epitext in the definition of a new discourse

  R. Tabernero-Sala, M. Colón-Castillo, M. Sampériz-Hernández, I. Campos-Bandrés

  El profesional de la información (2022). Vol. 31, (2), 29

  
  

  Abstract

  Within the framework of the information society, we are witnessing a paradigm shift in reading characterized by the convergence of analog and digital supports and the consequent challenges. In this context, the illustrated nonfiction book emerges as a format with great editorial vitality. They are open works subject to the reader’s critical interpretation that move away from the traditional encyclopedic discourse and towards a confluence between art and knowledge. As a way of promoting these books, the book-trailer is defined as a virtual peritext that generates meanings, guides the reading, and projects a model of the reader that is immersed in the culture of the social web. To identify the keys that determine this reader, an exploratory study based on content analysis on the characteristics of the book-trailer of illustrated nonfiction books aimed at children was carried out. A sample of 397 book-trailers from 50 publishing houses was selected for the analysis. The results reveal that the promotion of nonfiction books defines a reading model that emphasizes the physical dimension of reading, the artistic proposal, an interactive, fragmented, free reading that is also guided, the solvency provided by the recognition of authorship, and learning linked to the playful and emotional component through hybridization as the axis of construction. It is concluded that the book-trailer of the illustrated nonfiction book corresponds to a curious and reflective implicit reader in line with the needs posed by the digital society of the 21st century in terms of reading.

  Abstract
  Within the framework of the information society, we are witnessing a paradigm shift in reading characterized by the convergence of analog and digital supports and the consequent [...]

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• Transsexuality in Spanish cybermedia. Presence, preeminence, and topics (2000-2020)

  R. Olveira-Araujo

  El profesional de la información (2022). Vol. 31, (1), 28

  
  

  Abstract

  Transsexuality has found a place in both the Spanish collective mindset and media. To analyze the portrayal of this type of sexual diversity in the media, we evaluated its presence in cybermedia, its preeminence in journalistic texts, and the issues addressed in its media coverage. A quantitative content analysis (N = 24,363) of the journalistic texts published during the period 2000–2020 by 13 generalist Spanish cybermedia was carried out, using both rule-based classification and unsupervised topic modeling. The results highlight an increase in journalistic texts about transsexuality, in which three inflection points and four phases or distribution changes can be distinguished. The preeminence of this topic within the analyzed pieces has also increased, and the issues covered have diversified over the years. Overall, these data confirm the newsworthiness that this type of sexual diversity achieved throughout the first two decades of the twenty-first century. Media attention especially highlights the newsworthiness of aspects such as conflict, the protagonist’s notoriety, or periodicity through anniversary journalism. Likewise, the results also suggest that the media offer an increasingly complex portrayal that favors both the visibility and the understanding of the different dimensions and characteristics that intersect in these realities.

  Abstract
  Transsexuality has found a place in both the Spanish collective mindset and media. To analyze the portrayal of this type of sexual diversity in the media, we evaluated its [...]

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• Fan fiction and transmedia literacy practices on Wattpad: exploring the narrative and aesthetic skills of teenagers

  M. Guerrero-Pico, M. Establés, C. Costa-Sánchez

  El profesional de la información (2022). Vol. 31, (2), 27

  
  

  Abstract

  In recent years, Wattpad has become the leading collaborative reading and writing platform allowing young writers to publish their works, some of which belong to the tradition of fan fiction, including stories derived from a source text from popular culture. The main objective of this article is to explore how teenagers reading and writing fan fiction on Wattpad apply transmedia skills related to production and narrative and esthetic reflection. Using a theoretical framework that integrates transmedia literacy, fan fiction communities as affinity spaces, and Wattpad as a tool to promote transmedia reading, we carry out a qualitative study using data collected from workshops, media newspapers, and interviews with adolescents in five different Spanish regions. The results highlight identity-play in the production of the stories, in which fanfics about real-life celebrities from the teenagers’ media universes coexist with original stories inspired by the authors’ personal lives and interests. Likewise, there is a trend toward the hybridization of fan fiction with languages and formats more typical of social media platforms, such as Instagram, with a superficial application of narrative and esthetic transmedia skills related to fan fiction practices.

  Abstract
  In recent years, Wattpad has become the leading collaborative reading and writing platform allowing young writers to publish their works, some of which belong to the tradition [...]

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• Factors conditioning the consolidation of e-book lending services in Spanish public libraries

  E. Sánchez-Muñoz

  El profesional de la información (2022). Vol. 31, (2), 26

  
  

  Abstract

  Despite the investment of economic and human resources made by Spanish public libraries to create digital collections while continuing to play their traditional role as mediators between users, technology, and reading, there are conditioning factors that make it difficult for e-book lending to be integrated as yet another service within those provided by libraries and to be fully accepted by readers. With the aim of identifying the elements underlying the slow consolidation of digital lending, a literature review was carried out to determine the state of the art, mainly in both the USA and Spain, the e-book market aimed at Spanish public libraries is analyzed, the technological difficulties involved in lending and downloading for users are presented, and the influence of the measures adopted by the publishing sector and public administrations are examined. The need to make license commercialization models more flexible, simplify digital rights management systems, and decouple collections from electronic lending platforms, as well as avoid the dispersion of library resources across various interfaces, is highlighted.

  Abstract
  Despite the investment of economic and human resources made by Spanish public libraries to create digital collections while continuing to play their traditional role as mediators [...]

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• Reading and associated competences of information and documentation professionals: the reading behavior of future librarians

  S. Sánchez-García, E. Larrañaga, S. Yubero

  El profesional de la información (2022). Vol. 31, (2), 25

  
  

  Abstract

  Numerous studies have analyzed the reading habits of university students, demonstrating the benefits of voluntary reading for academic performance. It is thus paradoxical that a large fraction of university students only read instrumentally and are far from adopting stable reading habits. This general situation is repeated among future professionals in the education field, whose personal reading experiences have been proven to have a decisive influence on their training and professional practice. Students on information and documentation degree courses are among the group of future professionals who are strongly linked to reading and who must attain competence in reading and comprehension. The main aim of this study is to use a sample of 214 students on information and documentation degree courses at five Spanish universities to analyze the professional profiles of most interest to them and their relationship with reading, both at a global level and depending on their chosen profile. The results reveal that many students have not identified a clearly defined professional profile. We also confirm findings from other studies on reading habits and behaviors, where it is evident that voluntary reading is not part of their lifestyle, albeit with some differences here between students depending on the professional profile selected. These results support the idea that, although some of these competences do not seem to have a strictly information or documentation nature, given the importance given to them in professional opportunities related to these studies, their reinforcement should be considered in future revisions of such degrees.

  Abstract
  Numerous studies have analyzed the reading habits of university students, demonstrating the benefits of voluntary reading for academic performance. It is thus paradoxical [...]

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