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The Internet has been a valuable resource for many indigenous groups as a vehicle for self-representation. In this paper, we describe how the installation of a Wi-Fi signal in a Guaraní community in Greater Buenos Aires—as part of the community leader’s decolonizing media projects—generated issues within the community. While much indigenous media research concerns the politics of cultural representation, we consider the politics of everyday, intracommunity mobile communication practices. Firstly, our findings show how the choice of communication medium can become a political issue. An upsurge in mobile-mediated communication within the community contributed to the decline of face-to-face deliberations, which were the mainstay of communal sharing arrangements and which held a central position in understandings of Guaraní culture. Secondly, our findings show how discrepancies between users’ communication preferences and the readily available mobile media services can generate a use barrier by deterring users from obtaining the skills needed to effectively appropriate or transform mobile media services. Familiarity with a few mainstream social media apps not only reinforced imaginaries of the Internet as a nonindigenous space but also generated set ideas of what the Internet supports in terms of communicative form—social networking—and content type—mainstream media. In the end, the community leader’s decolonizing projects, aimed at using social media for community media dissemination, were not only rejected by community members but also undermined by the dynamics of mobile media practices in the community. We argue that limited mobile technology skills combined with commercially oriented mobile media services can hinder creative and adaptable mobile media practices, and in turn, undermine decolonizing mobile appropriations.

Digital systems can track every activity. Their logs are the fundamental raw material of intelligent systems in big data approaches. However, big data approaches mainly use predictions and correlations that often fail in the prediction of minorities or invisibilize collectives, causing discriminatory decisions. While this discrimination has been documented regarding, sex, race and sexual orientation, age has received less attention. A critical review of the academic literature confirms that structural ageism also shapes big data approaches. The article identifies some instances in which ageism is in operation either implicitly or explicitly. Concretely, biased samples and biased tools tend to exclude the habits, interests and values of older people from algorithms and studies, which contributes to reinforcing structural ageism.

No therapies have been proven to increase survival after a hepatic encephalopathy (HE) episode. We hypothesize that two doses of albumin could improve 90-day survival rates after a HE episode. Methods: (1) A randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled trial (BETA) was conducted in 12 hospitals. The effect of albumin (1.5 g/kg at baseline and 1 g/kg on day 3) on 90-day survival rates after a HE episode grade II or higher was evaluated. (2) A meta-analysis of individual patient’s data for survival including two clinical trials (BETA and ALFAE) was performed. Results: In total, 82 patients were included. Albumin failed to increase the 90-day transplant-free survival (91.9% vs. 80.5%, p = 0.3). A competing risk analysis was performed, observing a 90-day cumulative incidence of death of 9% in the albumin group vs. 20% in the placebo (p = 0.1). The meta-analysis showed a benefit in the albumin group, with a lower rate of clinical events (death or liver transplant) than patients in the placebo (HR, 0.44, 95% CI, 0.21–0.82), when analyzed by a competing risk analysis (90-days mortality rate of 11% in the albumin group vs. 30% in the placebo, p = 0.02). Conclusions: Repeated doses of albumin might be beneficial for patient’s survival as an add-on therapy after an HE episode, but an adequately powered trial is needed.

Technology companies, when considering the design of their products or services, tend to configure users by scripting appropriate user interactions with their technology. Older users are often seen as laggards who take no part in innovation processes. The scripts for technology use planned by technology companies rarely take older users into account. Hence the role of older adults in participating in innovation processes, challenging scripts and reconfiguring technologies has not been well researched. We present four cases in which the role of older adults in innovation processes is examined: as early adopters (case 1); in playing an active role in deviating from technology companies’ scripts (cases 2 and 3); or in clarifying these scripts (case 4). Finally, we present our conclusions and implications for future innovative practices, focusing on the importance for technology companies not only to involve younger, but also older people when designing new technologies with underlying scripts that are useful in their everyday life.

The main social media platforms have been implementing strategies to minimize fake news dissemination. These include identifying, labeling, and penalizing –via news feed ranking algorithms– fake publications. Part of the rationale behind this approach is that the negative effects of fake content arise only when social media users are deceived. Once debunked, fake posts and news stories should therefore become harmless. Unfortunately, the literature shows that the effects of misinformation are more complex and tend to persist and even backfire after correction. Furthermore, we still do not know much about how social media users evaluate content that has been fact-checked and flagged as false. More worryingly, previous findings suggest that some people may intentionally share made up news on social media, although their motivations are not fully explained. To better understand users’ interaction with social media content identified or recognized as false, we analyze qualitative and quantitative data from five focus groups and a sub-national online survey (N = 350). Findings suggest that the label of ‘false news’ plays a role –although not necessarily central– in social media users’ evaluation of the content and their decision (not) to share it. Some participants showed distrust in fact-checkers and lack of knowledge about the fact-checking process. We also found that fake news sharing is a two-dimensional phenomenon that includes intentional and unintentional behaviors. We discuss some of the reasons why some of social media users may choose to distribute fake news content intentionally.

Ageism is the most invisible form of discrimination. While there is some awareness of gender, racial, and socioeconomic discrimination on digital platforms, ageism has received less attention. This article analyzes some tools that are frequently embedded on digital platforms from an old-age perspective, in order to increase awareness of the different ways in which ageism works. We will firstly look at how innovation teams, following homophilic patterns, disregard older people. Secondly, we will show how ageism tends to be amplified by the methods often used on digital platforms. And thirdly, we will show how corporate values are often against usability issues that mainly affect people with a low level of (digital) skills, which is more common among older people. Counterbalancing the abusive power control of the corporations behind digital platforms and compensating for the underrepresentation of groups in less favorable situations could help to tackle such discrimination.

This chapter examines the ways heterogeneous groups of older individuals appropriate mobile devices, the meanings of these uses, and the paramount role of the smartphone. Images, text messages, and voice messages have become key elements of (asynchronous) communication. In contexts where smartphones are pervasive, expectations and pressures come from relatives and peers, shaping mobile practices and associated learning processes. The chapter also analyzes the causes and consequences of non-use and limited use as the digital divide affects older people significantly. Finally, it discusses the need for non-patronizing empirical research going beyond health-centered perspectives, enabling a better understanding of the multiple dimensions of the mobile revolution and favoring an inclusive design of products, services, and policies.

In recent years, different classifications for muscle injuries have been proposed based on the topographic location of the injury within the bone-tendon-muscle chain. We hereby propose that in addition to the topographic classification of muscle injuries, a histoarchitectonic (description of the damage to connective tissue structures) definition of the injury be included within the nomenclature. Thus, the nomenclature should focus not only on the macroscopic anatomy but also on the histoarchitectonic features of the injury.

Background: Factors affecting a rotator cuff symptomatic retear after arthroscopic repair have yet to be clearly identified, since they usually influence the surgical decisions. Methods: Consecutive patients with full-thickness tear of the supraspinatus who underwent arthroscopic repair were retrospectively analyzed. Cases of symptomatic retear, defined as Sugaya type IV and V on magnetic resonance imaging, associated with intensive pain and/or functional impairment were identified at follow-up. The patients with no symptomatic retear were selected as the control group. Information from potential risk factors of symptomatic retear, including depression and subacromial corticosteroid injections, was extracted from the medical records. The statistical analysis included multivariant logistic regression. Results: The symptomatic retear rate was 9.5% in 158 patients. Patients in the symptomatic retear group were more likely to be smoking, to have massive tears, a short acromiohumeral distance, and moderate to severe fatty infiltration. They also had had more frequently subacromial corticosteroid injections and depression. However, following the multiple logistic regression analysis, only massive tears and moderate to severe fatty infiltration remained significantly associated. Similarly, in relation to the study hypothesis, both corticosteroid injections (odds ratio [OR] 6.66, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.49, 29.81; P =.013) and depression (OR 8.26, IC 1.04, 65.62; P =.046) were significantly associated with symptomatic retear risk. Conclusions: This study found support for the hypothesis that both depression and corticosteroid infiltration before surgery are independent risk factors for symptomatic retear after arthroscopic repair of rotator cuff.

Drawn from the stress process model, the pandemic has imposed substantial stress to individual economic and mental well-being and has brought unprecedented disruptions to social life. In light of social distancing measures, and in particular physical distancing because of lockdown policies, the use of digital technologies has been regarded as the alternative to maintain economic and social activities. This paper aims to describe the design and implementation of an online survey created as an urgent, international response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The online survey described here responds to the need of understanding the effects of the pandemic on social interactions/relations and to provide findings on the extent to which digital technology is being utilized by citizens across different communities and countries around the world. It also aims to analyze the association of use of digital technologies with psychological well-being and levels of loneliness. The data will be based on the ongoing survey (comprised of several existing and validated instruments on digital use, psychological well-being and loneliness), open for 3 months after roll out (ends September) across 11 countries (Austria, France, Germany, India, Malta, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Turkey, and UK). Participants include residents aged 18 years and older in the countries and snowball sampling is employed via social media platforms. We anticipate that the findings of the survey will provide useful and much needed information on the prevalence of use and intensities of digital technologies among different age groups, gender, socioeconomic groups in a comparative perspective. Moreover, we expect that the future analysis of the data collected will show that different types of digital technologies and intensities of use are associated with psychological well-being and loneliness. To conclude, these findings from the study are expected to bring in our understanding the role of digital technologies in affecting individual social and emotional connections during a crisis. ispartof: FRONTIERS IN SOCIOLOGY vol:5 ispartof: location:Switzerland status: published

This article analyzes the idioms of practice and media ideologies of adolescents and older adults regarding mobile digital media usage, and how they are negotiated within and between age cohorts. We formed aged-based focus groups in Rome and Barcelona (four groups of 16- to 19-year-olds and four of 65- to 85-year-olds). The comparison provides new insights on older individuals’ communication practices, often overshadowed by the focus on youth. Participants of both age groups explained they do media in their own way, which is perceived as “the right” (or legitimate) way. Strategies and hierarchies differ with age, according to meanings and rankings attributed to media choices in a communicative environment of affordances, or polymedia. The results suggest that differentiated generation-based idioms of practice and media ideologies are in operation in each cohort while, in both cases, refer to adaptative and goal-oriented communications.

In this paper, we explore ageist depictions of both young and older people as they emerge from discourses addressing ‘other people's’ digital media usage practices. We carried out eight focus groups (four with teenagers, four with people aged 65 or older) in two southern European cities (Rome and Barcelona). By negotiating the affordances and constraints of (digital) tools and platforms, people develop their own usage norms and strategies, which might – or might not – be intersubjectively shared. Discourses surrounding usage practices and norms tend to refer to what people understand as an appropriate way of using digital platforms: these discourses proved to be powerful triggers for expressing ageist stereotypes; ‘the others’ were depicted, by both teenage and older participants, as adopting inappropriate usage practices (with regard to content, form, skills and adherence to social norms). These reflections proved to have broader implications on how other age cohorts are perceived: participants tended to take discourses on digital media usage as an opportunity for making generalised judgements about ‘the others’, which address their manners, as well as their attitude towards communication and social life. Inter-group discrimination processes and ageist stereotypes play a major role in shaping the strong moralistic and patronising judgements expressed by older and younger participants towards ‘the other’ age cohort.

Very little is known about public perceptions of journalists outside Europe and the United States. Even less is known about the role of these attitudes in sustaining civic life around the world. Using individual and country-level survey data, this study explores public attitudes of press performance and their relationship with news consumption and civic participation in 22 countries. The study argues that the nature of civic and local participatory behaviors is often intertwined with notions about what is “good journalism.” Results suggest that public evaluations of press performance influence news use. News consumption is also tightly related to civic participation, even in markedly divergent cultural contexts. Citizens’ assessment of journalism practice is also a positive moderator of these relationships. This study builds on international comparative work related to the effects of press freedom and journalism practice on stimulating public life.

Background & Aims Drug-drug interactions (DDIs) with ombitasvir/paritaprevir/ritonavir with or without dasabuvir and with or without ribavirin (OBV/PTV/r ± DSV ± RBV) are common in clinical trials. Our aim was to analyze the prevalence and management of potential DDIs and adverse events (AEs) related to DDIs in patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) receiving OBV/PTV/r ± DSV ± RBV in clinical practice. Methods 177 CHC patients started OBV/PTV/r ± DSV ± RBV in 4 Spanish hospitals and were screened for potential DDIs using the University of Liverpool database. Patients were classified according to the most serious potential DDIs at baseline and AEs during therapy. Results At least one potential DDI was found in 110 (62.1%) patients: 100 (56.5%) had at least one manageable potential DDI and 10 (5.6%) at least one contraindicated. Patients with potential DDIs received a higher number of concomitant drugs (4 vs. 2, p

Interferon-free regimens achieve sustained virologic response (SVR) rates of over 90%, have generally well-tolerated adverse effects and involve 12-week treatment durations for most patients with chronic hepatitis C, including naive or previously treated patients and patients with or without cirrhosis. However, some of the treatment options recommended by the guidelines require the addition of ribavirin (RBV) or extend the duration of treatment to increase efficacy. The use of RBV is a useful tool in those difficult-to-cure patients such as patients with decompensated or genotype-3-infected cirrhosis and those who have not achieved SVR after treatment with direct-acting antivirals (DAA). Overall, adding RBV to the different combinations causes adverse effects related to a decrease in haemoglobin and involves inconveniences such as its dosage, which requires patients to take several tablets twice daily. However, severe anaemia is rare and easily manageable with a dose reduction. In addition, RBV is teratogenic. In practice, because RBV is inexpensive and well tolerated when combined with an interferon-free regimen, it continues to be a useful tool to optimise the results of some HCV treatment regimens. RBV-free regimens eliminate RBV-related adverse effects related, resulting in better tolerability, improving patient adherence and quality of life and reducing the cost of treatment.

Interferon-free regimens achieve sustained virologic response (SVR) rates of over 90%, have generally well-tolerated adverse effects and involve 12-week treatment durations for most patients with chronic hepatitis C, including naive or previously treated patients and patients with or without cirrhosis. However, some of the treatment options recommended by the guidelines require the addition of ribavirin (RBV) or extend the duration of treatment to increase efficacy. The use of RBV is a useful tool in those difficult-to-cure patients such as patients with decompensated or genotype-3-infected cirrhosis and those who have not achieved SVR after treatment with direct-acting antivirals (DAA). Overall, adding RBV to the different combinations causes adverse effects related to a decrease in haemoglobin and involves inconveniences such as its dosage, which requires patients to take several tablets twice daily. However, severe anaemia is rare and easily manageable with a dose reduction. In addition, RBV is teratogenic. In practice, because RBV is inexpensive and well tolerated when combined with an interferon-free regimen, it continues to be a useful tool to optimise the results of some HCV treatment regimens. RBV-free regimens eliminate RBV-related adverse effects related, resulting in better tolerability, improving patient adherence and quality of life and reducing the cost of treatment.

News use and political discussion are often studied as important factors in understanding the effects of political efficacy on participation. However, measurements of external efficacy often blur d...

Internal political efficacy has long been associated with news use and political discussion. Yet, as more people are inadvertently exposed to news and political discussion online, it remains unclear whether incidental news exposure also has a discursive effect on political efficacy. In a two-wave panel study, we applied the O-S-R-O-R model of communication effects to test these relationships. We found that political discussion with weak ties, but not strong ties, is a mediator between incidental news exposure and internal political efficacy.

With social media at the forefront of today's media context, citizens may perceive they don't need to actively seek news because they will be exposed to news and remain well-informed through their peers and social networks. We label this the “news-finds-me perception,” and test its implications for news seeking and political knowledge: “news-finds-me effects.” U.S. panel-survey data show that individuals who perceive news will find them are less likely to use traditional news sources and are less knowledgeable about politics over time. Although the news-finds-me perception is positively associated with news exposure on social media, this behavior doesn't facilitate political learning. These results suggest news continues to enhance political knowledge best when actively sought.

This article explores the role of trust in professional and alternative media as (a) antecedents of citizen news production, and (b) moderators of the effect of citizen news production on political participation. Using two-wave panel survey data collected in the United States between December 2013 and March 2014, results show that trust in citizen media predicts people’s tendency to create news. In turn, citizen news production is a positive predictor of both offline and online participation. More importantly, trust in the media moderates the effect of citizen news production over online political participation. Overall, this article highlights the importance of trust in the media with respect to citizen news production and how it matters for democracy. Thus, this study casts a much-needed light on how media trust and citizen journalism intertwine in explaining a more engaged and participatory citizenry.

Ordinary citizens are increasingly using mobile instant messaging apps such as WhatsApp for politically-related activities. Compared to other ‘semi-public’ online platforms, WhatsApp provides a more intimate and controlled environment in which users can almost simultaneously gather and share news, discuss politics, and mobilize others. Relying on two-wave panel data collected in Spain, USA, and New Zealand, this study examines the mediating role of WhatsApp political discussion in the relationships between different types of news use and various forms of political participation. First, our findings reveal WhatsApp discussion has a positive influence on activism, and a more nuanced effect on conventional participation. Second, results are partially supportive of a fully mediated set of influences between news media and social media news uses and both types of participation via WhatsApp. Finally, the study examines age differential effects between younger (Gen Xers and Millennials) and older (Boomers) age groups.

Older people are a minority in digital media, in terms of both access and use. While the divide in access has decreased, this is not the case with the divide in use. In this chapter, we go deeper into the divide in use, by studying the diversity of smartphone usage among older people. We have used three complementary perspectives: tracked use, reported use, and reflections on use. According to our study, between 2014 and 2016 the divide in smartphone use increased between younger individuals and older people. Moreover, older smartphone users in Spain are a diverse user group, which includes basic, proficient and advanced users. Proficient users are the most common group. Basic users are often new users with little experience of digital technologies who usually achieve their communication goals by other means. We used a triangulation of qualitative and quantitative methods. This approach allowed us to show the limited and at the same time diverse use of smartphones by older people. These results question the stereotypes that only associate older people with a limited use of digital technologies. They also help to raise awareness of the importance of taking the particular characteristics of older proficient smartphone users into account in the design of intelligent systems, in order to fight structural ageism.

Although much attention has been paid to how media use and interpersonal discussion motivate people to engage in political persuasion, and despite recent efforts to study the role of digital media technologies, less is known about the creation of news and public affairs content online. This study sheds light on how online content creation works alongside other communicative behaviors, such as news use and political discussion, to affect attempted political persuasion. Using two-wave panel survey data, we find that political discussion and citizen news creation mediate the relationships between online and traditional news use, on one hand, and attempted persuasion, on the other. Furthermore, strength of partisanship moderates the relationship between content creation and attempted persuasion. Findings are discussed in light of their implications for the political communication and public sphere processes.

Mobile broadband is playing an increasingly important role in the developing world. However, mobile platform providers and app publishers are dominated by multinational companies headquartered in the West. Where international agendas commit to promote local content production and a culturally diverse information society, there is minimal research on the orientation of commercial app production in developing regions. This article examines the targets and activities of mobile app developers in two Latin American economies – Argentina and Bolivia – analysing the political, social and economic conditions that connect or disconnect app developers and the interests of local users. Findings suggest that app distribution platforms do not favour local markets and that app developers largely focus on custom-design projects for commercial firms.

Methods to involve users in design have long been used to create relevant content and increase the accuracy of product development. Demographic trends have raised the issue of the needs and demands of older people, especially with regard to digitization. In contrast to the high number of publications discussing the importance of involving people in the design of their daily life, very few publications suggest how to do it. While participatory design is used with older people, there is no common understanding about which methods are used for what purposes. This paper presents a framework methodology that further advances the opportunity to involve older people in the design process and increase understanding of old people’s subjective experience of getting their lives digitized and how to involve them in design. Given that digitalization, with its systemic complexity, requires an understanding of how technology is contextualized, the need to understand what it means to age in today’s digital society is part of successful design. One objective is to go beyond stereotypes that often characterize generalizations of older people. We are using the concept of co-design, which is well established but not specifically adapted to older users. The goal is a matrix of tested co-design methods to be used by citizens, researchers, businesses or anyone who is interested in increasing the impact of old people on the design of new technologies.

En el marco de la experiencia de usuario (UX) analizamos las características, preferencias y percepciones de las personas no usuarias de bibliotecas públicas para apoyar el (re)diseño de sus servicios. Los datos empíricos provienen de una encuesta representativa de la población catalana de 15 años o más. Las bibliotecas y sus profesionales cuentan con una imagen positiva, si bien un tercio de las personas no usuarias no visitaría una biblioteca pública (de nuevo). La mayoría son ex-usuarios (el 81% había visitado una biblioteca pública pero hace más de un año). Al terminar el período educativo también acaba la relación con la biblioteca, una tendencia más acusada en el caso de los hombres. Las personas que nunca han sido usuarias (19%) destacan entre la población mayor y en los niveles educativos más bajos. Es necesario que las estrategias de la biblioteca para incrementar el uso sean diferenciadas en respuesta a los perfiles y opiniones sobre la biblioteca de las personas ex y no usuarias. The user experience framework (UX) serves to analyze the characteristics, preferences and perceptions of non-users of the public library to inform the (re)design of services. Empirical data come from a representative survey of the Catalan population aged 15 and over. In general terms, libraries and librarians benefit from a positive image, although one third of non-users would have no motivation for visiting a public library (again). Most are ex-users (81%) who had visited a public library but not in the last year. Individuals seem to stop using the public library when they end their educational period, with disengagement affecting more men than women. Never-users (19%) stand out among older individuals and lower educational levels. Results support the idea that different strategies must target ex-users and non-users to attract them (back) to the library as both their profiles and opinions on the public library are different.

In this paper, we analyze long-term appropriation of smartwatches among a group of older people. For the purpose of the study, we provided five older individuals (aged 71 to 80; three women, two men) with Android smartwatches. We interviewed participants after 2 and 12 months of smartwatch usage and observed its usage in an informal gathering 12 months after the end of the study. Drawing on Morville’s model of user experience (2004), we focus on how the smartwatch was (not) useful, usable, valuable, and desirable for each participant in each stage of the process. Results show the relevance of valuableness and desirability in the (non-)appropriation of smartwatches for those participants. Specifically, participants used the smartwatches to express their sporty, techie and fashion identities.

Starting from Beck's concept of reflexivity, the paper investigates differences in risk perception regarding wireless technologies expressed by older people living in Romania and Catalonia (Spain). We combine evidence from conversations held with older individuals in different research projects together with an ad-hoc media content analysis. Our research reveals that seniors' discourses were consistent with the media prominence of different types of risks in each country. Results show that seniors' discourses on health risks relate to the way the media discussed them, with Romanian participants, in contrast to older people from Catalonia, expressing no concerns about electromagnetic radiation. Also, Romanian seniors were more concerned about the risk to othersyounger family memberswhereas seniors in Catalonia were more concerned about their own risks. Seniors from Romania made more references to the country's development. We discuss aging futures in societies with different risk perceptions. As the media presents the risks associated with digital technologies in differing lights, people's perceptions are formed accordingly. Also, in countries where technology is perceived as good per se, the techno-optimistic discourse would be reinforced not only by the media but also by the groups exposed to the highest social pressure towards technology adoptionfor example, seniors. A partir del concepto de reflexividad de Beck, el artículo investiga las diferencias en la percepción del riesgo con respecto a las tecnologías inalámbricas expresadas por las personas mayores que viven en Rumania y Cataluña (España). Combinamos la evidencia de las conversaciones mantenidas con personas mayores en diferentes proyectos de investigación junto con un análisis de contenido de medios ad-hoc. Nuestra investigación revela que los discursos de los adultos mayores fueron coherentes con la importancia que dan los medios a los diferentes tipos de riesgos en cada país. Los resultados muestran que los discursos de los mayores sobre los riesgos para la salud se relacionan con la forma en que los medios los discutieron, y los participantes rumanos, a diferencia de las personas mayores de Cataluña, expresaron que no les preocupa la radiación electromagnética. Además, las personas mayores rumanas estaban más preocupadas por el riesgo para otros miembros de la familia más jóvenes, ya que las personas mayores en Cataluña estaban más preocupadas por sus propios riesgos. Las personas mayores de Rumania hicieron más referencias al desarrollo del país. Analizamos el futuro a largo plazo en sociedades con diferentes percepciones de riesgo. A medida que los medios presentan los riesgos asociados con las tecnologías digitales en diferentes focos, las percepciones de las personas se forman en consecuencia. Además, en países donde la tecnología se percibe como buena per se, el discurso tecno-optimista se vería reforzado no solo por los medios sino también por los grupos expuestos a la mayor presión social hacia la adopción de tecnología, por ejemplo, personas mayores. A partir del concepte de reflexivitat de Beck, l'article investiga les diferències en la percepció del risc respecte a les tecnologies sense fil expressades per les persones grans que viuen a Romania i Catalunya (Espanya). Combinem l'evidència de les converses mantenides amb persones grans en diferents projectes d'investigació juntament amb una anàlisi de contingut de mitjans ad-hoc. La nostra investigació revela que els discursos de les persones grans van ser coherents amb la importància que donen els mitjans als diferents tipus de riscos a cada país. Els resultats mostren que els discursos dels adults grans sobre els riscs per a la salut es relacionen amb la forma en què els mitjans els van discutir, i els participants romanesos, a diferència dels ciutadans de Catalunya, van expressar que no els preocupa la radiació electromagnètica. A més, les persones grans romaneses estaven més preocupades pel risc per a altres membres de la família més joves, ja que les persones grans a Catalunya estaven més preocupades pels seus propis riscos. Les persones grans de Romania van fer més referències al desenvolupament del país. Analitzem el futur a llarg termini en societats amb diferents percepcions de risc. A mesura que els mitjans presenten els riscos associats amb les tecnologies digitals en diferents focus, les percepcions de les persones es formen en conseqüència. A més, en països on la tecnologia es percep com a bona per se, el discurs tecno-optimista es veuria reforçat no només pels mitjans sinó també pels grups exposats a la major pressió social cap a l'adopció de tecnologia, per exemple, gent gran.

This article deals with the engagement of new media users in specific forms of participatory content production, focusing on productive and labour aspects in co-creative endeavours. We present a case analysis of a community-based filmmaking software, Moviestorm, focused on a specific set of practices – modding – and following the controversy that took place when a shift in the company’s business model altered the rules that tacitly constituted modders’ practices, particularly the notion of control over their own labour. We pay attention to motivations and expected rewards expressed by both modders and the company as a part of a negotiation process around the ownership and the affective and economic value of user-generated content. Our central argument is that through the analysis of practices, particularly in moments of conflict and change, we can acquire a more subtle understanding of an economy of affections in co-creative processes as well as observing the clashing models of co-creativity, with different approaches to peer production and hierarchy.

In this article I discuss the phenomenon of deliberated missed calls and their intentional use by senior mobile phone users in Barcelona (Catalonia, Spain). Deliberate missed calls (DMC) are made with the intention that the receiver is not to answer them. Although this multiregional and multicultural practice is described in different countries, no specific study has been carried out on its use by the older population. To address this absence, this article explores the significance of using deliberate missed calls among seniors. There are three main conclusions. First, personal abilities and external support shape the way seniors use DMC. Second, seniors may abandon, or at least redefine, the use of deliberate missed calls if they change to a flat-rate contract. Finally, the focus on an already old innovation such as DMC allows us to observe the importance of accounting for the heterogeneity of older people if we are to properly analyze their mobile communication practices.

It is well-documented that ICT are designed mostly with young users in mind. In addition, most studies about smartphone use do not include older people or even consider age differences. Consequently, little is known about how to design smartphone apps taking older people's interests into account. We have used a mixed-method approach with an intergenerational perspective to approach this topic. First, we track the smartphone activities of 238 panelists. Second, we conduct an online survey (382 respondents). Third, we document the experiences of a group of older people in a smartphone learning club. We have found specific media consumption and communication patterns among older individuals: for example, at home they are more prone to jumping between devices for ergonomic reasons, thus, cross-device interactions are key for this group. We discuss the relevance of intergenerational studies in counterbalancing the spread of age stereotypes and identifying alternative adoption trends.

Chronic exertional compartment syndrome is characterized by exertional pain and elevated intracompartmental pressures affecting the leg in physically active young people. In patients who have failed conservative measures, fasciotomy is the treatment of choice. This study presents a new method for performing fasciotomy using high-resolution ultrasound (US) guidance and reports on the clinical outcomes in a group of these patients. Over a 3-year period, 7 consecutive patients with a total of 9 involved legs presented clinically with anterior compartment chronic exertional compartment syndrome, which was confirmed by intracompartmental pressure measurements before and after exercise. After a US examination, fasciotomy under US guidance was performed. Preoperative and postoperative pain and activity levels were assessed as well as number of days needed to “return to play.” All patients had a decrease in pain, and all except 1 returned to presymptomatic exercise levels with a median return to play of 35 days.

Computers and smartphones are multipurpose devices with overlapping capacities. Thus, users end up interacting with the same information through different devices, sometimes simultaneously (or within a short timeframe). As our artifact ecologies grow, it is clear that the use of multipurpose devices cannot be understood in isolation, and diverse uses are widely influenced by personal interests. However, personal interests change over a lifetime. Tracking the online smartphone and computer activities of 178 Spanish users aged 17 to 76, we make an intergenerational comparison of simultaneous activities on both devices. We demonstrate that simultaneous activities are common to people of all ages, tending to happen more during working hours. While age stereotypes say that older people are less active users of technologies, some are also engaged in simultaneous smartphone–computer use, evidence that they are making the most of the devices available to them.

In this research we explore older people's incentives to use Internet services to communicate with their children and grandchildren, and the factors that make older individuals stop using (or even reject) Internet-mediated communications. We apply the uses and gratifications theory, and the gratification niche of medium concept to understand the way people return to less sophisticated tools of communication once the marginal utility is lost. Our analysis is based on empirical evidence the two authors gathered in a set of case studies. We conducted semi-structured interviews with people aged 60 and over in Barcelona, Romania (Bucharest and rural areas), Toronto, Los Angeles, Montevideo, and Lima. The results show that communicating with children and grandchildren when families get separated is an important motivator that 'pushes' the elderly to learn more about the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs). We emphasize the fact that once motivation is lost (i.e. when family members are back home) the interest in using a particular technology to communicate is diminished, therefore older people might stop using it. We argue for a more dynamic model of technology appropriation for this age group that includes successive stages: ignoring, appropriation, rejection, and re-appropriation.

This paper show some thoughts about the self-portrait as an extended practice on the Internet, not only as a representation of users of Social Network Sites (profile pictures for example) but also as a creative and playful self-reflective practice on the self, the body and the personal identity. To some authors, the practice of self-portraits is related to control forms and empowerment, in particular, the self-portraits made by women. For other authors, it seems to be the popularisation of a practice previously reserved to artists, while others point to the therapeutic and personal transformation powers of the selfportrait. What seems to be undoubted is the relationship between the self-portrait and the everyday narratives of the self and, on the Internet, this personal and intimate practice becomes public and even creates an audience. In this sense, the self-portrait could be understood as a new cultural form of self-presentation that could be understood as both, the public performance of the personal identity and the result of a performative practice with the own body.El artículo propone una reflexión sobre el autorretrato como práctica cada vez más extendida en Internet, no sólo para la presentación del usuario en los contextos sociales de interacción, como las fotos que acompañan el perfil personal en las redes sociales, sino también como práctica creativa, lúdica o auto-reflexiva sobre sí, el cuerpo y la identidad personal. Para algunos autores, la práctica del autorretrato está relacionada con formas de control y empoderamiento, especialmente en el realizado por mujeres, mientras que para otros se trata de la popularización de la exploración de la identidad personal antes circunscrita prácticamente al ámbito de la experimentación y expresión artística, o bien puede entenderse desde una perspectiva psicológica, como una práctica terapéutica de transformación personal. En todo caso, esta práctica de autorretrato íntimo, vinculada generalmente a la narrativa cotidiana personal pasa a ser, a través de internet, una práctica pública que puede tener una amplia audiencia y destinada a la interacción social. En este sentido, podría entenderse también como una nueva forma cultural de presentación social de sí que conllevaría un trabajo de performación de la identidad personal de un modo relacional, ya sea como una actuación pública del yo o como resultado de una práctica performativa sobre el propio cuerpo.

The impact of information and communication technology is not limited to the sector in which it is produced, but rather it spreads to all sectors of production and consumption. This is also valid for mobile telephony.

Our aim in this article is to explore videogames as new media practices, not in isolation but as part of broader media transformations related to the development of current digital technologies. Videogames are the product of a hybridization process between audiovisual media forms and game cultures, rapidly gaining popularity among kids and the elderly population. The experience of audiovisual consumption and aesthetic pleasure is enhanced by interactive and game amusement components not found in previous audiovisual genres such as cinema or TV. In fact, videogames situate `play' at the core of the audiovisual experience, introducing innovative changes in audiovisual production and reception patterns. Our proposal is that videogames introduce a new relationship between subject and representation that goes far beyond the `spectatorship' position, pointing to a playful relationship with images that may be useful for understanding new forms of media practices. Videogames, thus, as a new media practice, can be seen as an exponent of greater change not only regarding how media are produced and consumed, but also in the way leisure is organized and in the role of play in our everyday life.

Summary Background Depression and anxiety have been associated with interferon treatment and low treatment adherence. Aim To study the incidence and associated risk factors of depressive and anxiety disorders during pegylated interferon plus ribavirin and treatment adherence in a prospective cohort of 176 patients with chronic hepatitis C patients. Methods Patients were interviewed at baseline using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Mental Disorders and the Patient Health Questionnaire and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale were completed. Both questionnaires were completed also after 4, 12 and 24 weeks of treatment. Results De novo depressive and/or anxiety disorders were diagnosed in 53 (36%) patients, in whom antidepressants and/or anxiolytics were administered. Higher baseline depression-subscale score (OR = 27.8, 95% CI = 2.82–333), primary education level (OR = 3.1, 95% CI = 1.40–7.03) and being an immigrant (OR = 3.2, 95% CI = 1.12–9.47) were predictors of psychiatric disorders during anti-viral therapy. The percentage of patients with good adherence was lower in those with depression and/or anxiety (79% vs. 90%, P

Older people's attitude towards mobile communication constitutes a privileged perspective for analyzing domestication processes of digital technologies. By means of a qualitative case study conducted in Italy, we study older users' motivations and usage practices. We focus on perceptions of mobile phones, adoption and domestication of mobile phones, as well as on usage skills. Participants, aged 60 to 95 years old, typically started to make use of mobile telephony in mid 1990i¾?s and they mainly described a utilitarian approach to the mobile device even though there are cases of anthropomorphization. With a variety of profiles, from assisted to advanced users, those not having smartphones sometimes see touchscreen as challenging. They describe different learning strategies, which are shaped by personal interests. Finally, some participants adopt more sophisticated devices while others decide to slow down their relationship with mobile phones.

The media are important actors in humanitarian crisis management and resolution, not only in the countries where crises occur, but also in the rest of the world, as media are frequently the only source of information for the population of Northern countries. Through semi-structured interviews with the International section editors of four Spanish newspapers, we study the influence of news values and news routines on the information about countries facing crisis. The editors privilege what they consider to be human-impact stories, but also those involving Spanish economic or strategic interests or having closer emotional ties to their readers.

Introduction: To identify whether there are any discrepancies among the professional team physicians when making sideline decisions, a survey on common cases was performed. Material and method: During the annual meeting of the Spanish Association of Football Team Doctors, we administered an anonymous, individual questionnaire on 7 simulated cases requiring immediate medical attention on the pitch. The cases were based on real episodes requiring rapid decision making. Results: The respondents would reduce shoulder dislocation in the changing room with a maximum of 2 attempts and withdraw the player. With thoracic injury and grade II sprain of the external lateral ligament of the ankle, most respondents recommended withdrawing the player and would not perform infiltrations. With pulled ischiotibial muscles, half the respondents would bear the player’s sensations in mind. In cranial contusion with transitory disorientation, most physicians would not withdraw the player from the game. With contused head wounds, most respondents preferred staples to sutures and would perform the suturing in the changing room. In cardiorespiratory arrest, most respondents proposed starting cardiopulmonary resuscitation immediately on the pitch. Discussion: The results obtained show distinct degrees of disparity. Consequently, we recommend that the various sports medicine associations design protocols and consensus documents on the actions that should be taken. Nevertheless, conservative attitudes predominated with the aim of preserving footballers’ health.

The prevalence of anti-retroviral therapy (ART) use over time and the incidence of AIDS in a cohort of HIV-seroconverting injecting drug users (IDUs) were assessed by means of a hospital-based study of IDUs with a well documented date of HIV infection. Use of ART and clinical endpoints were assessed by hospital records. Three calendar periods (before 1992, 1992–6 and 1997–2000) were defined as corresponding to modalities of ART available. Prevalence of ART usage in each calendar period, changes in medication and, hazard of AIDS in patients reaching the same duration of HIV infection at different calendar periods were analysed. In total, 132 IDUs with a median age of 23 years at seroconversion were followed up for 6.8 years (median) (range 0.2–15.7). At the end of the study, 58 patients (44%) had developed AIDS. Before the introduction of highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART) 12% of patients were on ART. Starting in 1997, an increasing proportion were receiving HAART with a prevalence of 39.5% by January 2000. Taking 1992–6 as the reference category the relative hazard of AIDS during 1997–2000 was 0.42 (95% CI, 0.1–1.1) (P = 0.09). A 40% penetration of HAART in a cohort of IDUs with known dates of seroconversion resulted in a 58% reduction of the hazard of AIDS.

This paper explores the combined effects of everyday life technological devices and advertisements in constituting an efficient way to scientific popularization. We, therefore, analyze mobile telephony advertisements published in a high-circulation Spanish newspaper — La Vanguardia — between 1994 and 1999. We identify content that promoted knowledge about the devices, the service, or the uses of this groundbreaking technology. Advertisements also attach attributes to technology — modernity, freedom, or efficiency. We suggest that the analysis of advertisements that promote everyday life digital devices allows a better understanding of what (digital) technology means to publics.

This chapter deals with ethnographic methodologies used when studying digital media, social contexts, and cultural practices. The chapter starts with an introduction to ethnography and its challenges when going digital. It then provides an overview of the different approaches to digital ethnography depending on the object of study: (1) the ethnography of online communities, virtual worlds, and social media sites; (2) the connective ethnography proposal through online and offline field settings; and (3) the ethnography of everyday life and the issue of audiences and creative practices in digital media. Finally, we discuss methodological issues relating to how to conduct online ethnographic fieldwork, including participant observation, interviews, as well as digital tools for registering, analyzing, presenting data, and some ethical considerations.

This working paper presents some first results of an ongoing ethnographic research into the creative processes in the field of digital media. Specifically, it seeks to explore different models of understanding cultural creation and how the tension between participatory logic and market rules is articulated in Digital Culture. For this purpose, the analysis has been focused on the narratives related to the cultural forms of the creative practices and the collaborative processes based on the intensive use of social networks among the 'Free Culture' movement in the context of audiovisual creation in Catalonia.