Catálogo de publicaciones - revistas

<jats:p>The communicative effects of disintermediation caused by social media promote the expansion of personalist and emotional political discourses that reach the audience directly and evade the traditional journalistic filter. This phenomenon leads to new political communication tactics, but also exposes citizens to potentially fraudulent, contaminated or polarised content. In this context, framed in post-truth, the term ‘fake news’ gains relevance as a way of referring to disinformation and as a political and performative argument that can be weaponised. This research aims to analyse such use in the discourse of the former president Donald Trump during his presidential term (2017-2021), focussing on Twitter as the main platform in his political communication strategy online. To analyse this, we resort to a methodological triangulation of content, discourse, and sentiment analysis, with the latter combining both lexicon and artificial intelligence (AI) techniques through machine learning on the basis of deep learning and natural language processing, which is applied to his messages published with the term ‘fake news’ (N = 768). The analysis of the sample, provided here in an open dataset, employs self-developed software that allows each unit of analysis to be filtered and coded around its predominant themes, sentiments, and words. The main results confirm that Trump’s attribution of ‘fake news’ focusses on three main topics: the media (53%), politics (40%) and his cabinet (33%). It also shows how the former president resorts to a personalist agenda, focussed on the defence of his proposals and his team (80%) by delegitimizing his opponents and the press, with a negative tone (72%) loaded with derogatory terms, confirming a weaponised strategy of the term ‘fake news’ as a political argument of disinformation and disintermediation.</jats:p>

<jats:p>In view of the growing disinformation about vaccines on social media since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, effective communication strategies encouraging vaccine uptake are needed. We conducted an experiment through an online, preregistered survey to explore which types of information sources are more trusted by the population regarding the risks of the Covid-19 booster, and which types of message frames are more effective in influencing the perception of risks for children. We surveyed a representative sample composed of 1,800 Spaniards in June 2022. The two dependent variables were respondents’ perceptions of (1) the Covid-19 booster vaccine effectiveness and (2) the safety of the Covid-19 vaccine for children. Participants were randomly exposed to different messaging regarding these vaccines, with different sources of information (scientific consensus, scientific dissensus, governmental, influencers and medical doctors), and different message framing (pro- and anti-vaccine storytelling and pro- and anti-vaccine scientific data). Additionally, some respondents who did not receive any messaging formed a control group. Our findings suggest that different information sources and frames can influence people’s risk perception of vaccines. The source ‘medical doctors’ had a positive effect on risk perception of the Covid-19 booster vaccine (p &lt; 0.05), and pro-vaccine messages, in the form of both storytelling and scientific expository frames, had a positive effect on respondents’ risk perception of the vaccine for children (p &lt; 0.1 and p &lt; 0.05, respectively). On the one hand, male and older respondents rated booster vaccines as more effective than female and younger respondents. On the other hand, right-wing respondents believed vaccines are somewhat less safe for children than left-wing respondents. These findings might support the development of strategic communication in vaccination programmes by public health departments to improve immunization rates in the general population. The practical and theoretical implications are discussed.</jats:p>

<jats:p>This article examines research trends on disinformation. First, it explores the relationship between disinformation and digital news media, highlighting the negative impact of disinformation on citizens’ trust in the news. Recent research on disinformation is classified into several areas, including typological studies, research on fact-checking, disinformation on digital platforms, and studies on media literacy. Next, the article identifies several emerging fields for research, such as studies on disinformation narratives, information manipulation and international interference, artificial intelligence generated disinformation, cross-platform disinformation, and thematic and multidisciplinary studies. Based on this analysis, the article highlights the need to continue investigating and combatting disinformation, as it is a persistent and growing problem in democratic societies.</jats:p>

<jats:p>As institutions committed to society, universities communicate their responsible behavior and their impacts on the environment and community through University Social Responsibility (USR) and sustainability reports. This paper analyzes USR management in the 50 higher education institutions that belong to the Spanish public university system and their commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda. A descriptive methodology was followed to carry out a document review and content analysis of their social responsibility and sustainability reports, as well as their institutional development plans. The results show that both the conceptualization and management of USR as a policy is very heterogeneous between universities and by regions. There is little evidence that USR policies are deeply rooted in a government framework and that the contribution of public universities to the 2030 Agenda is incipient. Although the relationship with internal and external audiences is represented in the documents, there are weaknesses in the relationship with mixed interest groups. Responsible communication is presented as a mechanism for the integration and promotion of the SDGs in universities and as a manifestation of their relationships with stakeholders.</jats:p>

<jats:p>TikTok has become an international benchmark: In 2022 it was the most downloaded application in all of Europe. Political discourse has not stayed on the sidelines, and its rhetoric has been adapted to a young electorate who feels at home with this new platform. Given this social network’s explosion, the main objective of this research is to analyze which topics and approaches the parties with the greatest parliamentary representation use most frequently by looking at their activity on TikTok and determine how they have leveraged a time of polarization and political confrontation to a network geared toward entertainment. To achieve these objectives, a methodological triangulation based on three analyses –quantitative content, discourse, and qualitative content– is used. The sample consists of 250 posts from the official profiles of the following Spanish political parties: Partido Socialista Obrero Español (PSOE), Partido Popular (PP), Ciudadanos (C’s), Unidas Podemos (UP), and Vox. Specifically, a non-random stratification system was used, selecting the 50 videos from each party that had with the highest number of views since they launched their profiles on this social network. From a theoretical standpoint, this study proposes a new concept, the aggressive critical message (ACM), which is presented as a further contribution to the conceptual framework of emerging studies on crypto hate speech. From an empirical standpoint, the results obtained reveal that the partisan rhetoric on TikTok is not homogeneous, and substantial differences are seen between the topics addressed by the different parties. It also is concluded that the parties are implementing techniques used in entertainment alongside polarization itself, which trivializes politics, aiming to go viral rather than to provoke thought.</jats:p>

<jats:p>The pictures of the US Capitol attack, on January 6, 2021, represent a before and after in a country marked by the culture of political polarization. Following a presidential campaign based on misinformation and accusations of electoral fraud by Republican candidate Donald Trump, the level of maximum polarization causes a climate of social rupture. Faced with this, the Democratic candidate and winner of the elections, Joe Biden, projects a discourse of institutional stability and legality as a strategy before public opinion. Two years later, the abrupt division of the US electorate is evident, with a significant percentage of Republican voters questioning the legitimacy of the electoral process. The objective of this research is to find out the strategies of political polarization deployed by Donald Trump and Joe Biden on Twitter in the 2020-2021 presidential transition period, as well as the public’s response. Based on a general sample of 1,060 tweets, a comparative content analysis methodology with a triple approach (quantitative-qualitative-discursive) is applied, based on the study of themes, emotions, and the ability to go viral of the messages of both political leaders. The results confirm a Trump’s speech defined by polarization, misinformation and the attack on the democratic system, relegating information from his presidential administration in the last months of his term to the background. On the contrary, Biden avoids confrontation and reinforces his legitimacy as president-elect, by announcing management measures of the future government. The engagement value of the social audience on Twitter is also added, with a position of support for the winner of the elections.</jats:p>

<jats:p>In the context of digitalization and participatory culture, pop culture has sparked numerous online linguistic practices exhibiting the potential for informal language learning. This study centers around an online community consisting of Chinese fans of Spanish-language pop music. Adopting the virtual ethnography approach and using mixed methods including interviews and web-crawling of fan production, we collected data from one particular member who devotes his free time to translating Spanish-language song lyrics into Chinese, and we analyze how informal language learning takes place in this context. Our results indicate that 1) the flexibility of roles and collaborations within the community contribute to the co-construction of knowledge; 2) fan practices are fueled by the technology-facilitated fulfillment of emotional needs and the formation of a shared identity; and 3) systematic strategies appear when amateur online translators go about trying to translate colloquial expressions in a foreign language. Among these strategies are the triangulation of meanings across lyrics, the use of multiple online tools, a reliance on feedback from fellow community members, and a critical approach to sources with an eye to ensuring their reliability. These findings showing highly specialized information retrieval and critical literacy skills in fan practices could serve as inspiration for integrating lyrics translations into formal language education to enhance the acquisition of non-standardized vocabulary and the cultivation of critical thinking.</jats:p>

<jats:p>This research employs a quantitative and cross-sectional approach, utilizing an online survey (N=600), to examine the preferences of Spanish students aged 16 to 18 regarding different modes of education (face-to-face or online). It also explores potential variances based on their place of residence. Additionally, the study identifies the subjects of interest to these students for integration into formal learning and determines their preferred online learning formats. The findings reveal significant differences between students residing in cities with a population of 50,000 or more and those in smaller habitats, particularly in relation to their experiences and evaluations of online education, precisely specific training in received digital technologies, their topics of interest, their self-study learning methods, and their preferred online learning formats. These study outcomes can contribute to the enhancement of online education and better preparedness of the educational system for future challenges that may necessitate the adoption of this instructional mode. Based on our study, several recommendations for online education can be made. Firstly, there is a need for teachers to acquire enhanced digital skills. Secondly, it is important not to assume that young individuals possess inherent digital skills due to their age; instead, it is crucial to emphasize the acquisition of critical digital skills during their education. Thirdly, motivating young students by aligning teaching with their areas of interest should be encouraged, considering their significant habitat preferences. Lastly, interactive methodologies that stimulate students, such as immediate evaluation questionnaires, animations, and interactive exercises, should be prioritized, particularly for students residing in densely populated areas.</jats:p>

<jats:p>The fragmentation of the Spanish party system has led to a growing political polarization, particularly evident on the Internet. The discursive strategies of political actors online, combined with the particularities of communication on social media platforms such as the disinhibition effect, echo chambers, and filter bubbles, are likely to promote a state of tension among digital citizens. This tension is particularly pronounced in gender issues, which have become key positions of political parties, with convergence of sexism in the community and a highly reactive misogynistic online culture that turns female politicians into easy targets. Starting from the hashtag #IreneMonteroDimision, which conveys a paradigmatic criticism movement against the Spanish Minister of Equality, an analysis of the social conversation on Twitter is developed to determine its intentionality, tone, and orientation, as well as the themes and users that generated the most tension. In this way, multimodal content and discourse analysis is applied to the 418 tweets with the greatest interaction and explicitly directed at the minister. The hypothesis is that the criticism of Irene Montero goes beyond the management of her Ministry to place her at the center of a power struggle in which political ideology, hate speech, and antifeminism converge. The study has shown that attacks on Montero extend to the Executive and the feminist movement; they are promoted by a mass of politicized and polarized profiles, with constant activism and a tendency towards contagious replication of messages. These practices, as well as the participation of artificial profiles, allow us to appreciate signs of astroturfing; behind this seemingly natural critical reaction, there are orchestrated movements of antifeminist and far-right profiles (gender trolling), but also of trans-exclusionary feminists opposed to legislation promoted by Montero.</jats:p>

<jats:p>This research addresses the growing social importance of data from an educational perspective through data literacy (DL), seeking to integrate it into the broader information literacy (Infolit) movement. For this purpose, a systematic review was carried out of the papers in the main collection of the Web of Science that contain both concepts (DL and Infolit) and that were indexed up until March 2023. External aspects, such as the growth of the research and the identity, nationality, professional scope, and productivity of the authors, were taken into account. In addition, internal aspects, such as context (theory, frameworks, definitions, models, and related disciplines), objectives, methodology, results, conclusions, and recommendations, were analyzed to obtain a detailed perspective of the scientific research process adopted. A synchronic and diachronic analysis of the corpus of selected articles is offered, focusing on the aforementioned aspects. The researchers’ consensus on the urgency of addressing data training both generally and specifically in the different disciplines, languages, environments, and levels is evident. The emergent, multisectoral, and interdisciplinary nature of data literacy as part of Infolit, which is being applied in the education of students at different levels, viz. professionals and citizens, is noted, although the training limitations of students and many professionals are evident. Consequently, it is imperative to include DL in curricula and training programs to contribute to the acquisition and development of these competencies in different areas. To this end, the joint work of teachers, librarians, researchers, and other professionals is imperative. There is a need to deepen the theoretical, practical, and applied fields, as well as to reach a common definition, form a basic model of DL competencies within Infolit, and create submodels that take into consideration the idiosyncrasies of each area of application.</jats:p>