Search

Democracy is considered to be the ideal foundation of societies today. In a democratic society, news media play a highly relevant role as avenues by which public and political powers can interact with society and facilitate civic participation. The public’s perception of the news media’s reputation is a crucial factor for enhancing trust and citizen engagement. This article presents a study of the reputation of the media (paper press, digital press, radio and television) in ten European countries: Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. A quantitative method was applied to the results of a survey conducted to determine the reputation of news media among a sample of the informed population in those countries (1,000 residents of legal age who used media at least two or three times a week). The concept of reputation is thereby characterized in its association with the media, identifying its integrating attributes and assessing its incidence in each type of medium. The results indicate that, although television is the most widely used medium, the printed press enjoys a higher reputation in most of the countries studied, being seen as having the attributes of credibility and informative rigor. This study provides a detailed analysis of the scores given to media reputation attributes in the considered countries. It also offers a ranking of the media with the highest reputation in the countries examined, as well as a description of the reputational position of each medium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The content of the 847 papers presented by authors from Spanish universities at the six conferences of the Spanish Association for Communication Research (AE-IC) is analyzed. The six conferences were held in Santiago de Compostela (2008), Malaga (2010), Tarragona (2012), Bilbao (2014), Madrid (2016), and Salamanca (2018). The research variables of study are: author's profiles, geographic location, gender, home university, most commonly studied topics, and considered media. The results confirm that the gender divide no longer exist: in fact, there are more female than male authors. Universidad Complutense de Madrid and Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona exhibit the highest rates of participation, and Madrid and Catalonia are the most active regions, followed by Andalusia and Valencia. The topics treated are quite diverse, with the study of media content standing out, mainly those focused on political communication. Other common topics are the impact of the digital age, and audiovisual media structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditionally, the book uses text, pictures, and drawings to show information. To complement the information, various methods have been used, such as adding tangible objects or models. With the advent of digital books, it is possible to incorporate videos, interactive graphics, photo galleries, and 3D objects. This article describes the possibilities of including 3D models in books that are paper or electronic (read on a desktop or mobile device). For this article we have made several book prototypes in various formats, and instructions are presented so that the reader can visualize the 3D objects contained in them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Internet, the new mobile devices and cloud storage are changing the way in which people deal with information; we still need great storage capacity and information readers but we also value ubiquity and data synchronization between the different devices that we are using. Access has become more important than storage. The web as a tool is leading to the obsolescence of digital media that are just 20 years old and boosts the multimedia possibilities of paper, an analog medium that facilitates the relationship between people and mobile devices. We go through some of the experiences carried out in the Muskiz public library exploring the new multimedia possibilities of paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interest among those who work in Youth Information Centres in several key areas is highlighted: the selection and proper dissemination of the information content that affects the daily life of young people; overcoming the obstacles of accessibility and understanding of the information with which they are faced; and the importance of interactin with them in the context of social networking platforms. Because of the value associated with the virtual sociability within which young people and their interactions develop, we must boost its intermediary role by adopting the role of "connectors" as far as possible. To do this, we should detect those signs that suggest a "collaborative information behaviour" and encourage these actions. Among the concepts and ideas discussed in this brief analysis are "hyperdyadic dissemination" of Christakis and Fowler, mediation as "Information DJ" of Matt Lieberman, and the "information scent" of Pirolli. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The circulation of newspapers that have both a "paper version" and a "free digital" version is analysed to determine whether there is a relationship between the two kinds of circulation. If there is an existing relationship we want to know how it works, what the overall effects are, and if these effects create some form of "cannibalization". We studied the leading "free digital" publications in Spain for general information (El mundo), sports (Marca), and economics (Expansión). Sources for extracting data are Introl, OJD and OJD Interactiva. Data analysis was based on a descriptive statistics methodology and monthly series over 10 years, starting in June 1998, the first available date for electronic editions of these three newspapapers. The last month analysed is December 2008 because OJD Interactiva modified its measurement methods in January 2009 and this change could have affected the study results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Online press is immersed in a dynamic process, characterized by the incorporation of information technologies (IT) and search for new business models. In this context, digital media have found in mobile devices one of their main platforms of development, due to the possibilities of bringing information closer to its recipients and personalising messages according to their preferences. The object of this article is to investigate the potential of new mobile devices for information mobility, and their implementation for Spanish cybermedia. Pages audited with OJD Interactive software were used for this analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper stresses the importance of extensive reading as a necessary complement to academic papers and technical reports when it comes to building a disciplinary field. A review of basic, introductory, or popular books related to the area of Information Science is carried out. Above all, it proposes a selection of works, whether translated into Spanish or not, that may open people’s eyes to job opportunities or spread visibility of the disciplines related to information from their own point of view, with a focus on the organization of knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In December 2022, a new version of the Brazilian indicator for the evaluation of scientific journals Qualis Periodicos was published, corresponding to the period 2017-2020. This new version of the indicator is the only official version since the previous one was published in 2016, in spite of the leaks in recent years of some estimates and discussions on the new values of the journals according to new criteria, in which citations and values from other bibliometric indicators such as CiteScore, Scopus, and Clarivate-JIF percentiles and Google’s h, h5, or h10 indexes have gained more relevance. Qualis Periodicos, practically ubiquitous in Brazil, corresponds to the main factor and motivation that Brazilian researchers have in deciding where to publish their best papers, so its situation and values are of special interest for journals that want to attract quality research from a country as large as Brazil, where recent political changes are expected to prompt greater investment in its scientific system and more resources for publications. This paper presents the values of the Spanish journals in Communication and Information, based on the Fecyt 2021 list and the Documentation and Communication categories of Dialnet Métricas, and identifies some anomalies in the system that should be considered by editors and authors when publishing their results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Proceedings papers and journal articles play an important role in scholarly communication in most disciplines, including Library and Information Science. Although both serve different and complementary functions in scientific communication, in some cases the choice of one or the other can be exclusive and becomes a dilemma for researchers. This study aims to present different situations of tension caused by the choice of one or another channel of communication, and also an invitation to consider the role played by these two channels in the dissemination of scientific knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The system of scientific publication subjects the submitted manuscript to review, and it is common that many studies are rejected, for various reasons. Some researchers improve the study and achieve publication in another journal, while others abandon the effort and the work remains unpublished. The rejected papers that eventually achieve publication are cited more often than those accepted without changes, because the peer review process improves the quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper assesses the significance achieved by digital transformation, especially concerning the information sector during the Covid-19 pandemic. Once the concept of digital transformation and its attributes have been established, the paper addresses policy and business initiatives that support this transformation and the prevention of the digital divide. Transversal digital competences are then considered as a key enabler when it comes to e-learning and teleworking in university education, and their repercussions when it comes to enabling e-learning and teleworking are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An analysis of the impact of Covid-19 on the use of Spanish university libraries during 2020 versus 2019 is carried out in this paper. The results have been published in a web tool that allows for deeper analysis of the individual libraries as well as the libraries as a whole. This study is not an evaluation of the libraries themselves but consists of measuring, describing, and quantifying the negative impact that the health crisis had on them during 2020. Visits, loans, user training, and catalog visits are variables that were strongly affected, with a significant positive increase being identified only in visits to library web pages. The use of digital resources according to Counter-compiled data increased considerably in some private university libraries, where possible staff cuts were also identified. The paper concludes by outlining reflections that can be further studied with the experiences of people related to libraries and with additional research, including data for the following years after collection and publication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The search for other possible types of journalism has been present in the successive historical stages of the contemporary period since the birth of modern journalism. From the appearance of muckrakers to the new American journalism or precision journalism, there have been proposals that have enriched journalistic technique and contributed to the emergence of new journalistic roles. However, on many occasions “Adamism” emerges, and we face current challenges as if history had just begun and the past had left no trace. This brief paper examines the emergence of recent proposals that, in the digital scenario, raise the banner of impartiality to combat the lack of trust and low credibility that journalism offers to some sectors of the public. In addition to constructive journalism and solutions, as well as new transparency measures, the focus is on two new and recent publications: Factuel in France and The Messenger in the United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent weeks, there has been controversy surrounding multiple affiliation due to several scandals that have arisen in the Spanish scientific sphere. In Spain, this practice is not regulated and is incompatible with the exclusivity required by public administration for its full-time contracts. This article analyzes the positive and negative aspects that this practice has for the institutions and the academics who apply it. Likewise, a series of recommendations are made on how institutions could generate agreements in which all actors benefit from multiple affiliation while at the same time avoiding fraud. The authors of the paper conclude that this practice, developed in an honest and agreed upon manner with the institutions involved, promotes outstanding advantages. In the Spanish case, it is necessary to regulate these practices in public universities within the framework of individual agreements and conventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analyzed the results obtained for the total count between 2007 and 2018 of (1) doctoral theses defended in the 55 universities with undergraduate and/or graduate studies in communication that offer doctoral degrees, (2) competitive projects in state calls in the social sciences and humanities areas where the object of study includes a socially significant dimension of "communication" practices, and (3) papers resulting from R&D projects published in reference journals in the area of communication. These documents are the most representative of the research activity of faculty, because they constitute the published results originating from research that is recognized and legitimized by academic life, without which such documents could not have been published. Thus, the articles collected here constitute a census of publications based on previous research, since all those articles whose object of study was not previous research were not selected, e.g., essays, or epistemological reviews of authors, schools, and/or theoretical or methodological trends. Papers presented at Asociación Española de Investigación de la Comunicación (AE-IC) congresses, which are also being studied as part of the MapCom project, could also have been included; however, they are only considered tangentially herein because only a minority of them are expressly linked to research results. This overview of the productivity of communication research in Spain over a decade analyzes documents grouped by universities, Autonomous Communities, author gender, and years. A total of 4,158 documents have been analyzed. The results reflect the influence of the scientific policies of the research quality assessment agencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The journal Sustainability, published by MDPI, was the journal that published the most papers by researchers from Spanish institutions in 2020. This justifies a detailed examination of the Spanish scientific production in this journal. At the same time, the work of editing monographic issues in which papers with Spanish authors have been published is analyzed. For this purpose, we have identified whether each paper belongs to regular or to special issues of the journal, identifying whether the author of the paper is also editor of the monograph, or a university colleague. The nationality of the editors was also studied. The subject matter of the articles and their belonging to the area of the journal were analyzed. Most of the papers published by Spanish authors were published in special issues (81.6%), mainly edited by authors of the same nationality (63.1%). It is also found that there is an important production carried out by the same editor of the monograph, or by colleagues from the same institution. It is also found that a substantial number of works published in Sustainability (42.3%) have minimal or no relationship with the subject of sustainability. Finally, the implications of these findings are discussed under the light of the publication strategies of Spanish researchers and the science evaluation policies applied in Spain. The main controversial aspects identified have to do with the publication of papers on other subjects, the value of publishing in monographs, which in some cases could be considered as inbreeding, and the short editing times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The multi-channel and multi-platform technologies allow the mobility of information, which has a direct impact on the evolution of the electronic book. The change is dictated by the emergence of a new generation of electronic paper devices, as well as their own models of information management. In this paper we review the electronic book concept and present the basic characteristics of the devices that can be found on the market; then we describe the elements needed to carry out projects that produce works designed for electronic ink devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the social structure of Spanish and Latin American communication researchers through the representation and analysis of three coauthorship networks at the national, institutional, and individual level. Such networks are built from papers indexed in the 'Communication' category by Web of Science and published between 2000 and 2019 by authors attached to a Spanish or Latin American institution (n = 5,040). The goal is to characterize the structural features of each network, identify the most central actors, and illustrate the most relevant relationships among nodes. The results show that the most central country is Spain, followed by the USA and other European nations. Among the Latin American states, Brazil, Chile, and Mexico are placed at the most relevant nodes. Latin American collaboration is preferentially addressed to the USA, especially since 2015. Regarding institutions, Spanish public universities in Madrid and Catalonia achieve the highest degrees of centrality. However, the most central Latin American institutions are private universities. The most relevant authors are Spanish researchers until 2015, when they are replaced at the top by Latin American scholars. Collaboration at both the individual and institutional levels shows a deep regional tendency, while the internationalization of researchers and universities is only more visible since 2015. This work identifies a tendency towards internal cohesion at different network levels as the number of connected nodes grows in each period. We conclude that a proper Spanish-Latin America community of communication researchers does not exist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]