Catálogo de publicaciones - revistas

<jats:p>The metaverse is the conjunction and optimization of the possibilities of the Internet and technology at their best. It is a consequence of the development and evolution of digital society. Technological innovation, fundamentally oriented toward virtual reality, augmented reality, and mixed realities, contributes significantly to the creation of a solid foundation on which to build an entire universe of virtual worlds. This is a universe that, in turn, requires the creation of backbone content for narratives that attract and retain users by capturing their attention to promote a specific ecosystem that transfers the activities of the real world to a virtual one, either projected or recreated. This research is based on a systematic review of 402 articles and a qualitative analysis of 125 publications. It examines the trends in technology, application, and methodology pertaining to the metaverse in the social sciences field, namely marketing and communication and neuroscience, areas that contribute to the understanding of the social dimension of the metaverse phenomenon. Although there is abundant academic literature on the metaverse in computer science, this is not the case in the aforementioned disciplines. Given that the metaverse is destined to become the next Internet revolution, there is a race among countries and brands to position themselves within it, which is expected to intensify in the coming years. The metaverse can contribute to a wide variety of applications of a social nature, which is why it is a highly competitive tool for nations, companies, and academia, as well as the public and private media. The results indicate a technological transformation proposing a future that includes neuro-technologies based on brain–computer interfaces and the metaverse as the setting. This will occur alongside the solidification of the virtual ecosystem thanks to the emergence of digital natives and Gen Z, as well as the convergence of many different technologies and immersive and participatory content, in which the consumer is the provider, owner, and beneficiary.</jats:p>

<jats:p>Despite theoretical forecasts that have linked transparency policies with improvements in the fight against corruption, increased trust in institutions, and the development of quality in governments, several empirical studies have shown that this connection is not so simple. For it to happen, regulations of sufficient quality must be embedded in a holistic policy of good governance and adequately implemented. The transparency policy cannot generate the desired impacts if it is not implemented in the first place. The transparency policy of the governments of Catalonia does not seem to have had the desired effects, despite being of sufficient quality and being formally inserted in a holistic framework of good governance. The hypothesis this article attempts to test is the weakness of the implementation of Act 19/2014 as the cause of the non-existent or piecemeal outcomes. An exhaustive evaluation of the law’s implementation was conducted to test the hypothesis, with five series of surveys in five years (2015–2020) sent to more than 1,000 entities bound by the law, a review of transparency portals, a quality analysis of resolutions on the right of access, a quality analysis of citizens’ charters and codes of conduct, the use of the mystery shopper technique, and in-depth interviews with public decision-makers. The analysis results do not guarantee that the relative failure in impact is due to weak implementation of the law. However, it also cannot be ruled out that failure to implement some aspects of the rule influences its lack of effectiveness.</jats:p>

<jats:p>Although comparisons are unpopular, they help to establish standard frames of reference to assess the situation of individuals, institutions, or countries. In the field of communication, the meta-research has been prolific in examining the current state of its production, but has ignored the need to compare what this research is with respect to what it should be, thus offering descriptions without reference points. During the last decade in Spain, have the co-authorships in communication been international? And perhaps even more importantly, has the published output been top-tier? In this study, I try to answers these gaps in the literature by comparing communication research in Spain with two broad frames of reference: the set of all sciences and the set of all social sciences. The results show that, when compared with these two macro references, communication research collaborations lack international cooperation and are quite solitary. Similarly, communication research releases fewer publications in the first quartile but more in the second, third, and fourth quartiles. The study suggests that research in terms of international collaboration and level of publication output is below the expected standard and emphasizes the need to establish comparative frameworks to assess and evaluate the state of the field beyond descriptive or headline data (as in this article).</jats:p>

<jats:p>In recent years, the disinformation phenomenon, brought about by the ease with which fake news and hoaxes spread on social networks, has grown considerably. Twitter, especially, is a network that from the outset has been closely linked to news processes that are widely used by journalists. It has become a highly efficient means of spreading disinformation owing to its immediacy and capacity to spread contents. The microblogging network has attracted the attention of researchers and is a suitable subject matter for analysing how fact-checkers communicate as agents who nurture digital literacy in the general public to help them spot disinformation. The aim of this research is to characterise the use of Twitter by Ibero-American fact-checkers and to determine to what extent their posting habits influence interaction. To do so, the trending and timing for posts, the type of contents and resources used by each fact-checker and the interactions created on all levels are analysed. This research stated that Ibero-American fact-checkers throughout 2021 were highly active on Twitter. This was closely linked to the crises related to Covid-19. Communications from these organisations have helped to spread and reinforce their fact-checking and digital literacy mission, even though their performance is no more efficient in terms of the scope and impact of their work. The results show that boosting posts of reactive tweets, adjusting posting time to the Twitter dynamics and increasing the use of resources such as images and mentions are useful strategies for promoting interaction.</jats:p>

<jats:p>The Internet and social networks are widely used by students. For higher education, which operates in a highly competitive environment, marketing is a fundamental tool for universities to distinguish themselves and attract new students. Social networks are one of the best options for influencing university choice. The objective of this study is to analyze the relationship between some indicators related to universities and their use of and results on social networks. We carried out quantitative correlational research to study the number of students and ranking position as university indicators as well as the number of followers, posts, and interactions (likes, comments, and shares) weekly and per post on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. Data were collected from 83 Spanish universities over 14 weeks in 2021. Correlation analysis showed that the number of students is closely related to the number of followers and interactions, although to varying degrees. The position of a university in the rankings exhibited a particularly significant correlation with their number of followers on almost all the networks. In addition, the higher the university in the ranking, the higher the number of interactions per post that it obtained on Facebook and Twitter. It was also found that universities with more followers had more interactions (likes, comments, and shares) with their posts. Finally, the number of posts was found to be positively related to the interactions per week but not to the interactions per post. This study has identified some significant relationships between the characteristics of all Spanish universities and their performance on four social networks, which may help universities become better at acting and communicating on them.</jats:p>

<jats:p>An overview of the evolution of open access (OA) to scientific publications over the last 20 years is presented. This retrospective look allows us to make two observations that seem to overlap: on the one hand, how close the initial objective seems to be to what initially seemed utopian and, on the other, the unanticipated and solid obstacles that open access has encountered along the way, as well as the unexpected and diverse solutions that are emerging to overcome them. The overall assessment of OA is positive, and it underscores that open access is (or is becoming) possible, that it is good, and that it is necessary. However, this overall positive evolution has come up against two major obstacles that are slowing its progress: the double payments generated by hybrid journals (subscription and article processing charges [APCs]) and the unchecked growth in APCs. In addition, this intensive use of APCs is creating a publishing gap between publishers that charge fees to authors and those that do not, and ultimately, it is causing dissension regarding the (previously shared) strategy toward open access. There are no immediate, one-off solutions to overcome the aforementioned dysfunctions, although three actions that, in the medium term, can remedy them can be mentioned: changing the approach to the evaluation of science, adopting measures to regulate APCs, and promoting alternative publication models. Finally, it should be noted that OA has acted as the vanguard and spearhead of a broader movement: that of open science.</jats:p>

<jats:p>This article deals with the interactions between and opinions of parliamentary journalists covering the Spanish Congress of Deputies regarding their main source of information –the spokespersons of the parliamentary groups. This quantitative and qualitative study is based on both data obtained through a survey as well as semistructured personal interviews. The results have made it possible, among other aspects, to identify the patterns of behavior and frequency of relationships between media professionals and spokespersons; to recognize which of their skills are most appreciated by reporters; to evaluate the levels of empathy, trust, and credibility generated by the different political representatives in journalists; and finally, to establish a statistical correlation between the empathy–trust and trust–credibility variables to determine the level of effectiveness of the messages issued by parliamentary representatives. The study found that journalists find satisfaction with their work and with the level of recognition of the media they represent; they consider that the information they generate has importance for society, although with a limited social influence; that empathy, clarity, and credibility are the three most valued attributes of the parliamentary spokesperson; and that the perception of parliamentary spokespersons is acceptable. Finally, despite the criticism that the media sometimes receive for their ideological and biased interpretation of the news, no appreciable bias was found in the responses referring to the ideology of the spokesperson and the editorial line of the media to which the journalists surveyed belong, an issue related to their professionalism, independence, and objectivity, which are key to the economic and financial development of a country.</jats:p>

<jats:p>The International Cooperative for Research and Action in the Field of Communication (Circom) is an umbrella organization of regional broadcasters in Europe, currently composed of a total of 43 broadcasters from 29 countries. These public service media play a decisive role in information reality owing to their proximity, the cultural development of their communities, and the emotional bond they have with their audiences. This research analyzes the relationship between European regional media, innovation, and digitization processes and the fight against disinformation in the current media context through interviews with Circom network managers. In turn, the resulting sample has been compared with the models of Hallin and Mancini (2004), demonstrating that this classification is not significant in terms of innovation and digitization approaches but is decisive in the analysis of disinformation and the strategies used by the media in each country. Innovation, digitization processes, and business structure have conceptualization problems in solving the pressure that today’s convergent environment exerts on linear television. After analyzing the results, it becomes clear that there is a pressing need to renew and redefine professional profiles, adapt content to different formats, and conquer young audiences, although there is no agreement on the best way to face these challenges.</jats:p>

<jats:p>With digitization, journalistic companies tested out different ways of creating value through the capabilities that technology provides. Online newspapers applied the experience they had with their print versions to brand extensions, aiming to build revenue models that went beyond the classic models for advertising and charging for content. Their goal was to leverage brand value by expanding their name to a new product. This study focuses on Unidad Editorial, which undertook various initiatives testing the power of the digital brand elmundo.es and expanding the boundaries of the business. We use information obtained from 23 semistructured in-depth interviews with executives from the early days of their online business to the present, providing a comprehensive picture. Elmundo.es’s experimentation with brand extensions and other non-advertising revenue sources helps us understand digital media’s shift towards charging for content –which the Covid-19 pandemic provided a favorable environment for– in their search for alternatives to compensate for the decline in advertising revenue. New brand extension projects, for which brand strength and consistency with the original product are determinative, remain open. In addition, these new practices will be subject to the journalistic companies’ investment capabilities.</jats:p>

<jats:p>This paper makes an important contribution to comparative research by examining data journalism in Spain and Austria. This paper examines the practice of data journalism from a triple perspective: (a) the common features of day-to-day work, (b) the organizational structure and the role of the teams in newsrooms, and (c) the obstacles to and the future of data-driven reporting. Results from content analysis of data-driven news stories in El país and Der standard (N = 136) show differences and similarities in the covered topics, sources, narrative style, visualizations, interactive functions, and levels of transparency. Interestingly, only 36.8% of the analyzed news stories correspond to the normative expectations of transparency by incorporating both sources and methodological details. While the Spanish newspaper shows significantly higher levels of transparency compared with the Austrian newspaper, both newspapers perform very similarly when it comes to providing access to raw data, which was the case in only every fifth news story analyzed. Findings from focused interviews with the heads of data journalism teams deliver interesting insights into specific challenges that each news outlet is facing when creating day-to-day data-driven news stories. This research confirms the relevance that data journalism has achieved in countries such as Spain and demonstrates the effort of journalists in countries without access to information and transparency laws to create data-driven stories.</jats:p>