Redes sociales en Iberoamérica. Artículo de revisión

This paper presents an analysis of the existing literature on social networks in Ibero-America, with the objective of organizing the main topics covered, highlighting findings, and proposing future research paths. The four thematic areas that stand out are political communication and electronic government; journalism and traditional media; social groups (including adolescents and young people, those marginalized, women, entrepreneurs and influencers, students, and older adults) and areas of use (including commerce, tourism, education, health, professional communication); and political and civic participation. In addition, we review the literature from the perspective of the platforms (Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, YouTube, and Snapchat) and from the geographical regions and countries that make up Ibero-America, to observe similarities and differences. We conclude with the mention and analysis of the two most outstanding patterns of the studies examined: 1) a tendency to expect from the networks a transformative potential that is not necessarily proven, especially in the case of political communication and journalism; 2) transformative capacity of networks in the areas of tourism, education and health, in which traditional media have not been characterized by having a prominent role. Finally, we propose some paths for future studies, among them the pursuit of comparative works, the incorporation of relational perspectives in the treatment of networks, the addition of mixed, experimental and computational methodologies, and the consideration, from the research design standpoint, of the acceleration of technological change and the need to generate questions and conceptualizations capable of surviving the passage of time

Redes sociales en Iberoamérica. Artículo de revisión

This paper presents an analysis of the existing literature on social networks in Ibero-America, with the objective of organizing the main topics covered, highlighting findings, and proposing future research paths. The four thematic areas that stand out are political communication and electronic government; journalism and traditional media; social groups (including adolescents and young people, those marginalized, women, entrepreneurs and influencers, students, and older adults) and areas of use (including commerce, tourism, education, health, professional communication); and political and civic participation. In addition, we review the literature from the perspective of the platforms (Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, YouTube, and Snapchat) and from the geographical regions and countries that make up Ibero-America, to observe similarities and differences. We conclude with the mention and analysis of the two most outstanding patterns of the studies examined: 1) a tendency to expect from the networks a transformative potential that is not necessarily proven, especially in the case of political communication and journalism; 2) transformative capacity of networks in the areas of tourism, education and health, in which traditional media have not been characterized by having a prominent role. Finally, we propose some paths for future studies, among them the pursuit of comparative works, the incorporation of relational perspectives in the treatment of networks, the addition of mixed, experimental and computational methodologies, and the consideration, from the research design standpoint, of the acceleration of technological change and the need to generate questions and conceptualizations capable of surviving the passage of time

The policy gives to speak: Engagement in social networks of news sites

This paper analyses the relationship between the contents presented in the official Facebook and Twitter accounts of eight news sites in Argentina and the level of engagement they generate among users. The analysis of a sample of 2,039 news items, published between the months of March to November 2017, shows that there is a correlation between the content of the news and the level of engagement that they create among users. Although the sites presented a greater amount of news on issues of non-public issues, such as sports, police or entertainment, the highest levels of engagement were recorded in news on public issues, such as national and international policy and economy. These findings are consistent with the literature on the process of adaptation of the media to the new media ecosystem and support the theory of “monitorial citizenship” in the digital context

Política y pelotas: los intereses temáticos de los usuarios de sitios de noticias líderes en Argentina en 2016

Este trabajo examina las preferencias temáticas de los consumidores de noticias online en la Argentina durante 2016, a través de un método mixto que integra análisis de contenido con entrevistas en profundidad. El análisis cuantitativo, realizado en siete de los sitios de noticias más importantes de la Argentina, indica que durante el año 2016 las noticias sobre política y deportes fueron las más vistas, aunque este interés no fue constante: las notas sobre el gobierno del presidente Mauricio Macri y las denuncias por casos de corrupción tuvieron una posición dominante entre las más leídas durante el primer semestre, mientras que en la segunda parte del año dicha posición fue ocupada por noticias sobre los logros de los deportistas. La violencia de género, un tema de incipiente importancia en la agenda pública, ocupó en promedio solo el 4% de las noticias más vistas, aunque los datos muestran picos de interés durante los momentos de mayor movilización sobre esta problemática. Las entrevistas en profundidad sugieren que las audiencias se informan sobre temas de política para cumplir un rol ciudadano; esta práctica informativa suele estar asociada con emociones negativas como frustración, enojo y angustia. Por el contrario, el consumo de información deportiva se realiza con objetivos de esparcimiento, y tiene una carga emocional positiva vinculada con la identificación con los atletas y la diversión

Community Service: Editor pride and user preference on local newspaper websites

Armed with readily accessible online traffic logs that provide detailed information about the items users are selecting to view, editors are voicing concern about the potential effect on their own content decisions. Through a survey of local British newspaper editors, this article examines the overlap between user preferences, as suggested by assessments of website traffic, and content that editors identify as their best. Results are considered in the context of two related subsets of agenda-setting theory, as well as the sociological process of “making news.” The study finds overlap between broad categories of stories preferred by editors and users, but a considerable disconnect over the nature of the items within those categories

Understanding the framework of the processes of communication which arise in the establishment of scientific practices and knowledge : an interview with Bruce Lewenstein on science and the media

El siguiente artículo es una entrevista a Bruce Lewenstein, profesor asociado en los departamentos de Ciencias de la Comunicación y de Estudios de Ciencia y Tecnología de la Universidad de Cornell en los Estados Unidos. Lewenstein es especialista en ciencia y medios de comunicación de reconocimiento mundial. Ha editado numerosos artículos en revistas y tiene una vasta experiencia en los campos periodístico y editorial. La entrevista se realizó en abril de 1997.The following article is an interview with Bruce Lewenstein, lecturer in the Departments of Communication Sciences and Science and Technology Studies at Cornell University. Lewenstein is a world-renowned specialist in the relationship between science and the media. He has published numerous articles in various periodicals and has a vast experience in both journalism and publishing. On this occasion, he spoke to REDES about the processes of communication which arise in the establishment of scientific practices and knowledge. The interview is reproduced below

Science without flight recorders and politics without experiments capable of being repeated: talking with Bruno Latour about science and politics at the time of the mad cow disease

Bruno Latour ha sido uno de los pioneros de los estudios de la ciencia dentro de la llamada “nueva sociología” del conocimiento. Su libro escrito en colaboración con Steve Woolgar –La vida de laboratorio– ha sido uno de los primeros aportes para comprender las prácticas científicas desarrolladas “intramuros”, trabajo que se continuó en su obra La ciencia en acción. A partir de las consideraciones expresadas en Nunca hemos sido modernos (publicado en francés en 1991), Latour comienza a interesarse sobre otros problemas: la sociología de la vida cotidiana y sobre los “híbridos” y la relación de los humanos con los no humanos. En la entrevista que presentamos explica su nueva orientación, continuación de sus últimas reflexiones, en donde redimensiona las relaciones entre ciencia y política, negando por un lado y afirmando por otro (fiel a su estilo) el papel de los estudios de la ciencia.Bruno Latour has been one of the pioneers of science studies within the so-called “new sociology” of knowledge. His book, La vida de laboratorio, co-authored by Steve Woolgar, has been one of the first contributions that help to understand scientific practices developed “from w ithin” an organization, a task he continued in his La ciencia en accion. Starting from the ideas expressed in Nunca fuimos modernos (published in French, in 1991), Latour develops an interest in other problems: the sociology of everyday life and the “hybrids” and their relation to humans and non-humans. In this interview Latour explains his new approach, a continuation of his last reflections. In it he adds a new scaling to the relations between science and politics, on the one hand (true to his style) the role of science studies, and on other endorsing them

On the relationship between the sociology/sociologies of science a that of technology : steps towards a dynamics of mutual benefits

Inspirados por desarrollos en la sociología de la ciencia -especialmente por el Programa Empírico del Relativismo (PER)- en 1984 Pinch y Bijker lanzan en la sociología de la tecnología el modelo de la Construcción Social de la Tecnología (CST). Si bien las relaciones entre ambos marcos conceptuales fueron originalmente concebidas en términos de beneficio mutuo, casi siempre ha sido PER quien ha influido en CST, pero no viceversa. En este artículo investigo una forma en que dicha dinámica de beneficio mutuo puede ser instaurada. Llevo a cabo este objetivo a través de examinar la forma en que CST ha evolucionado en función de las críticas recibidas por su conexión con PER. Dicho examen muestra que la evolución de CST señala importantes caminos para el desarrollo de PER en el futuro.In 1984, boosted by developments in the sociology os science -especially by the Empirical Program of Relativism (EPR)-, Pinch and Bijker launched their model for the Social Construction of Technology (SCT) in the field of technology sociology. Even though the relationship between these two conceptual frameworks was initially conceived in terms of mutual benefit, EPR has always influenced SCT, and not vice versa. This article suggests how such dynamics of mutual benefit may be implemented. This aim is achieved by analizing the way in which SCT has evolved as a result of criticism about its connection to EPR. Such analysis shows that the evolution of SCT indicates significant paths of development for EPR in the future

From the Lab to the City : Wiebe Bijker Talks about the Evolution of the Social Studies of Technology

Boczkowski, P. J. (2000). Del Laboratorio a la Ciudad: Wiebe Bijker habla de la evolución de los Estudios Sociales de la Tecnología. Redes 7(16), 89-106.Wiebe Bijker es un ingeniero heterodoxo y, parafraseando a John Law, heterogéneo. Si entendemos la ingeniería en sentido amplio como el uso del conocimiento y la experimentación para la creación de objetos socialmente útiles, la trayectoria de Bijker es ciertamente “ingenieril” –tal como se manifiesta en la construcción de entidades tan diversas como planes de reforma curricular para la educación media, colecciones editoriales, programas transnacionales de posgrado, disciplinas académicas, movimientos políticos, manuales de Física para alumnos de escuela secundaria y textos sociológicos–. En el medio de tanta heterodoxia y heterogeneidad ha habido al menos un elemento constante: la pasión –y tal vez la obsesión– por democratizar la tecnología a través de mostrar que su rigidez es el resultado de procesos sociales “endurecidos” usualmente disfrazados bajo justificaciones técnicas, y por ende capaces de ser modificados en las condiciones apropiadas. Su peregrinar por ocupaciones y campos del conocimiento lo encontró como pionero de la llamada “Nueva Sociología de la Tecnología” a principios de la década del ochenta. La conversación que a continuación presentamos repasa tanto los cambios que desde entonces han tenido lugar en su pensamiento acerca de los estudios sociales de la tecnología, como las direcciones en que el mismo comienza a proyectarse en el futuro.Wiebe Bijker is an unorthodox and, paraphrasing John Law, heterogeneous engineer. If we understand engineering in a broad sense as the use of knowledge and experimentation for the creation of socially useful objects, then Bijker's career is certainly an engineering one--as can be seen in the construction of entities as diverse as political movements, Physics textbooks, graduate programs, high school curricula, academic disciplines, and sociological writings. However, in the midst of so much diversity there has been at least one constant element: his passion--and perhaps obsession?--to democratize technology by showing that its rigidity is the result of hardened social processes usually disguised as technical motives, thus open to social reconstruction. His forays into occupations and scientific fields found himself pioneering the so-called New Sociology of Technology at the dawn of the eighties. In this conversation, Bijker reflects on the evolution of the social studies of technology since then, and comments on his current research