El mercado publicitario catalán o la lucha por la supervivencia

Barcelona y Madrid han sido los dos centros que han polarizado gran parte de las inversiones publicitarias en España. Sin embargo, la difusión de los productos publicitarios a nivel estatal, el carácter multinacional, tanto de las inversiones como de los contenidos, y la concepción de España como una unidad de mercado han dificultado el estudio de la actividad publicitaria en territorios delimitados geográficamente. En 1999, un grupo de profesores de la UAB decidimos asumir el reto metodológico de abordar el estudio del comportamiento de Cataluña como generadora y receptora de inversión publicitaria. Eso debía permitir determinar, por una parte, el volumen de inversión publicitaria de las empresas con sede social en Cataluña y, por otra, cuál era el porcentaje que recibían los medios ubicados en esta zona geográfica sobre el total de inversión que tiene lugar en el conjunto estatal. El resultado fue una investigación que, por primera vez, aportaba datos originales sobre las tendencias de la actividad publicitaria en Cataluña. Así se convertía, por un lado, en una herramienta muy útil para ver, con datos numéricos, cuánto hay de realidad y cuánto de mito acerca de Cataluña como mercado publicitario y, por el otro, permitía hacer un diagnóstico sobre el estado de salud de la publicidad en el caso concreto de Cataluña.Barcelona and Madrid have been both centers that have polarized great part of the advertising investments in Spain. Nevertheless, the diffusion of advertising products at state level, the multinational character as much of the investments as of the contents and the conception of Spain as a market unit has made difficult the study of the advertising activity in delimited territories geographically. In 1999, a group of professors of the UAB decided to assume the methodologic challenge to undertake the study of the behavior of Catalonia like generating and receiving of advertising investment. That had to allow to determine on the one hand, the volume of advertising investment of the companies with social seat in Catalonia and, by another one, which was the percentage that the means located in this geographic zone received on the total of investment that takes place in the state set. The result was an investigation that, for the first time, contributed original data on the tendencies of the advertising activity in Catalonia. Thus one became, on the one hand, in a very useful tool to see, with numeric data, how much there is of reality and how much of myth about Catalonia like advertising market, and, by the other, it allowed to make a diagnosis on the state of health of advertising in the tactical mission of Catalonia

Recommendations on Formative Assessment and Feedback Practices for stronger engagement in MOOCs

Many publications and surveys refer to the high drop out rate in Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) which is around 90%, especially if we compare the number of students who register against those who finish. Working towards improving student engagement in MOOCs, we focus on providing specific research-based recommendations on formative assessment and feedback practices that can advance student activity. In this respect, we analysed some significant research papers on formative assessment and feedback methods applicable to face-to-face teaching environments that advance student engagement, and concluded with related requirements and conditions that can be applied also to MOOCs. We also analysed 4050 comments and reviews of the seven most active and highly rated MOOCs (6 Coursera ones and 1 from EdX) provided by the students who have mainly completed those courses via CourseTalk. Based on this content analysis, we have formulated fourteen recommendations that support also the requirements/conditions of our conceptual and theoretical framework analysis. The results obtained give some light in a rather unexplored research area, which is the research on formative assessment and feedback practices specifically for stronger engagement in MOOCs

Intense and Mild Wave of COVID-19 in the Gambia: A Cohort Analysis

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic is evolving differently in Africa than in other regions. Africa has lower SARS-CoV-2 transmission rates and milder clinical manifestations. Detailed SARS-CoV-2 epidemiologic data are needed in Africa. We used publicly available data to calculate SARS-CoV-2 infections per 1,000 persons in The Gambia. We evaluated transmission rates among 1,366 employees of the Medical Research Council Unit The Gambia (MRCG), where systematic surveillance of symptomatic cases and contact tracing were implemented. By September 30, 2020, The Gambia had identified 3,579 SARS-CoV-2 cases, including 115 deaths; 67% of cases were identified in August. Among infections, MRCG staff accounted for 191 cases; all were asymptomatic or mild. The cumulative incidence rate among nonclinical MRCG staff was 124 infections/1,000 persons, which is >80-fold higher than estimates of diagnosed cases among the population. Systematic surveillance and seroepidemiologic surveys are needed to clarify the extent of SARS-CoV-2 transmission in Africa