Communication strategies in the climate change debate on Facebook. Discourse on the Madrid Climate Summit (COP 25)

Climate change (CC) has become a topic of great interest in traditional and social media, two valuable sources of information that contribute to discussion on current affairs. Facebook is the social network with the most users in the world and also promotes mobilization, which makes it a platform of great interest for the study of CC communication strategies. The aim of this study is to analyse the content of the messages on CC posted on Facebook by prominent users: the relevance of the topic in the posts as a whole, objectives pursued, type of discourse and the emotions associated with messages. After validating a selection of 10 accounts (Greta Thunberg, Donald Trump, Scott Morrison, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Extinction Rebellion USA, Justin Trudeau, Bernie Sanders, United Nations, Extinction Rebellion UK and Jane Fonda), the methodology was based on content analysis applied to messages on CC (n = 599) posted on Facebook by the selected accounts between 1 November 2019 and 10 January 2020, the period covering the Madrid Climate Summit (COP 25, held in 2019). The results revealed different CC communication strategies. Regarding the presence of CC as a topic, we observed three different strategies: omission, simple mention and high presence. In terms of discourse, we noticed two different strategies: an emotional strategy that was more successful at generating interaction with others, and an analytical strategy that was generally more belligerent in its fight against CC

Análisis espacial del coeficiente de corrección por accesibilidad en las valoraciones urbanísticas en España

Desde el SXVIII ha sido ampliamente estudiada por los analistas la relación de la localización con el valor económico del suelo. El análisis teórico de la economía territorial se ha apoyado en la idea del territorio como un espacio de intercambio, en el que la distribución de los precios del suelo está basada en gran medida en las rentas de accesibilidad. La importancia de este trabajo reside en el estudio analítico del factor corrector por accesibilidad a núcleos de población (u1) según regula en la legislación española el Real Decreto 1492/2011, de 24 de octubre, por el que se aprueba el Reglamento de valoraciones de la Ley de Suelo. Se ha utilizado el análisis espacial para realizar el modelo, creando un Sistema de Información Geográfica (SIG) que permite recopilar, organizar, administrar, analizar, compartir y distribuir información geográfica. Se han identificado, clasificado y visualizado 1.836 puntos distribuidos por toda España, calculando su población a 4 Km y a 40 Km para calcular posteriormente el valor del factor de corrección u1. Los resultados obtenidos han permitido un análisis de la distribución espacial del plusvalor de posición que confirma los vínculos existentes entre los desequilibrios regionales y el nivel de desarrollo económico alcanzado. Los desequilibrios poblacionales surgidos como consecuencia de los movimientos migratorios hacia los grandes centros urbanos se han reflejado en la hipertrofia de los valores territoriales, concentrados en el entorno de las capitales de las Comunidades Autónomas más populosas y económicamente activas

Desinformación en tiempos de pandemia: tipología de los bulos sobre la Covid-19 // Disinformation in times of pandemic: typology of hoaxes on Covid-19

Drawing upon the misinformation stories debunked by the three accredited fact-checking platforms in Spain, a content analysis of all the hoaxes (N = 292) bound to the Covid-19 pandemic is performed, over the first month of the state of alarm decreed by the Spanish Government (March 14th, 2020 – April 13th, 2020). The study shows that the hoaxes about the coronavirus were disseminated mainly on social networks and, among them, especially in closed ones, such as the WhatsApp mobile messaging application. It also detects the most frequent formal and content peculiarities of misinformation. The results reveal that the pandemic, in addition to generating a large number of hoaxes on health and science, also led to the dissemination of many political fake news. The formats, sources and territories of origin of the hoaxes are also explored. Beyond the empirical results, this study makes theoretical contributions in the framework of the emerging studies on information disorders. Specifically, it provides a definition of hoax, as well as a typology in which four main types are identified: joke, exaggeration, decontextualization and deception. Based on these four types, a ‘hoax severity diagram’ is proposed

Disinformation in times of pandemic: typology of hoaxes on Covid-19

Drawing upon the misinformation stories debunked by the three accredited fact-checking platforms in Spain, a content analysis of all the hoaxes (N = 292) bound to the Covid-19 pandemic is performed, over the first month of the state of alarm decreed by the Spanish Government (March 14th, 2020 – April 13th, 2020). The study shows that the hoaxes about the coronavirus were disseminated mainly on social networks and, among them, especially in closed ones, such as the WhatsApp mobile messaging application. It also detects the most frequent formal and content peculiarities of misinformation. The results reveal that the pandemic, in addition to generating a large number of hoaxes on health and science, also led to the dissemination of many political fake news. The formats, sources and territories of origin of the hoaxes are also explored. Beyond the empirical results, this study makes theoretical contributions in the framework of the emerging studies on information disorders. Specifically, it provides a definition of hoax, as well as a typology in which four main types are identified: joke, exaggeration, decontextualization and deception. Based on these four types, a ‘hoax severity diagram’ is proposed

Desinformación en tiempos de pandemia: tipología de los bulos sobre la Covid-19 // Disinformation in times of pandemic: typology of hoaxes on Covid-19

Drawing upon the misinformation stories debunked by the three accredited fact-checking platforms in Spain, a content analysis of all the hoaxes (N = 292) bound to the Covid-19 pandemic is performed, over the first month of the state of alarm decreed by the Spanish Government (March 14th, 2020 – April 13th, 2020). The study shows that the hoaxes about the coronavirus were disseminated mainly on social networks and, among them, especially in closed ones, such as the WhatsApp mobile messaging application. It also detects the most frequent formal and content peculiarities of misinformation. The results reveal that the pandemic, in addition to generating a large number of hoaxes on health and science, also led to the dissemination of many political fake news. The formats, sources and territories of origin of the hoaxes are also explored. Beyond the empirical results, this study makes theoretical contributions in the framework of the emerging studies on information disorders. Specifically, it provides a definition of hoax, as well as a typology in which four main types are identified: joke, exaggeration, decontextualization and deception. Based on these four types, a ‘hoax severity diagram’ is proposed

Mentiras contagiosas. Guía para esquivar la desinformación en salud

Internet y las redes sociales han democratizado la comunicación de contenidos sobre salud y han multiplicado la difusión pública de informaciones relacionadas con ese tema. Muchas de las informaciones sanitarias proceden de fuentes acreditadas y son plenamente solventes, lo que permite a la ciudadanía acceder fácilmente a información de calidad que promueve comportamientos responsables. Sin embargo, al mismo tiempo, en las redes circulan cada vez más contenidos sobre salud de procedencia desconocida y fiabilidad dudosa. Buena parte de esos mensajes son, de hecho, intencionadamente engañosos. Las redes, en definitiva, son una moneda de dos caras: dan acceso a contenidos sanitarios de calidad, pero exponen asimismo a la ciudadanía a diversos riesgos. Esta guía pretende desarrollar y divulgar pautas que sirvan para contrarrestar el fenómeno de la desinformación en materia de salud

When science becomes controversial

Online video’s unique capacity to reach large audiences makes it a powerful tool to communicate science and technology to the general public. The outcome of the international research project "Videonline," this book provides a unique insight into the key elements of online science videos, such as narrative trends, production characteristics, and issues of scientific rigor. If offers various methodological approaches: a literature review, content analysis, and interviews and surveys of expert practitioners to provide information on how to maintain standards of rigour and technical quality in video production

Análisis geoestadístico del coeficiente de corrección por accesibilidad a núcleos de población en las valoraciones urbanísticas en España

El análisis teórico de la economía territorial se ha apoyado en la idea del territorio como espacio de intercambio, en el que la distribución de los precios del suelo rural está basada en gran medida en las rentas de accesibilidad. En este contexto se inscribe este trabajo, basado en el estudio del factor corrector por accesibilidad u1 a núcleos de población regulado en el Reglamento de valoraciones de la Ley de Suelo española. Se ha utilizado un Sistema de Información Geográfica (SIG), a partir del cual se ha desarrollado un análisis de estimación de la variable analizada mediante la aplicación de dos metodologías de interpolación, Kriging ordinario y Spline, con cuyos valores resultantes se ha podido obtener una superficie continua. Los productos del estudio han permitido un análisis de la distribución espacial del plusvalor de posición que confirma los vínculos existentes entre los desequilibrios regionales y el nivel de desarrollo económico alcanzado en cada área del territorio

Antimicrobial resistance and virulence of Pseudomonas spp. among healthy animals: concern about exolysin ExlA detection

Abstract Pseudomonas is a ubiquitous genus that also causes human, animal and plant diseases. Most studies have focused on clinical P. aeruginosa strains from humans, but they are scarce on animal strains. This study was aimed to determine the occurrence of Pseudomonas spp. among faecal samples of healthy animals, and to analyse their antimicrobial resistance, and pathogenicity. Among 704 animal faecal samples analysed, 133 Pseudomonas spp. isolates (23 species) were recovered from 46 samples (6.5%), and classified in 75 different PFGE patterns. Low antimicrobial resistance levels were found, being the highest to aztreonam (50.3%). Five sequence-types (ST1648, ST1711, ST2096, ST2194, ST2252), two serotypes (O:3, O:6), and three virulotypes (analysing 15 virulence and quorum-sensing genes) were observed among the 9 P. aeruginosa strains. Type-3-Secretion System genes were absent in the six O:3-serotype strains that additionally showed high cytotoxicity and produced higher biofilm biomass, phenazine pigments and motility than PAO1 control strain. In these six strains, the exlAB locus, and other virulence genotypes (e.g. RGP69 pathogenicity island) exclusive of PA7 outliers were detected by whole genome sequencing. This is the first description of the presence of the ExlA exolysin in P. aeruginosa from healthy animals, highlighting their pathological importance