Observatorio (OBS*)

Mobile identities: managing self and stigma in iPhone app use

Based on qualitative analysis, this study empirically investigates the symbolic meanings in self-presentation, produced through the collection, placement, and use of mobile apps. Given the relatively unexplored nature of this subject matter, this study offers a range of views on the topic of mobile apps and the presentation of self among young adults in London in 2014. Findings showed that although impression management techniques on a smartphone screen were similar, the motivations differed. These motivations for impression management were primarily focused on the areas of social stigma, with specific reference to sexuality, race, and gender. Expansion of this research area can further investigate other motivations and applicability of this study to other social cultures and contexts.

Media Rituals in Eusébio's Exequies

While celebrating collective representation, the media can be seen as spaces of ritualization that are fundamental to the consolidation of wider social values. In this paper we give an empirical frame to the concept of “media rituals” considering it as an entrenched symbolic practice that could be traceable in Eusébio's exequies television broadcasting. Three sorts of media rituals are identified: rituals dealing with immediacy, rituals dealing with collective prominence and rituals dealing with the revelation of reality. Each media ritual exemplifies how a space of comprehensive ritualization is erected. It is through this generalized and mediated ritualization that the idea of a major social occurrence is refreshed and worked through.

News on the move: Towards a typology of Journalists in Exile

Over the last eleven years, 706 journalists around the world have been forced to flee their homelands as a direct consequence of their work. The aim of this study is to provide insight into how the experience of going into exile has affected the motivations and professional standards of these journalists. The study consisted of in-depth interviews with journalists from five countries who have previously fled their homelands. The study shows that adherence to the truth, a basic tenet of journalism in a liberal democracy, is a cornerstone of professional practice for these journalists. Journalists can be seen to have a bi-dimensional relationship with the truth, considering it an end in itself but also recognising its utility value to help further their democratising goals. Journalists' motivations were also found to be strong towards helping create a better country for their compatriots. Motivations were found to be symbolic or functional. A typology of journalists in exile is proposed. The results are discussed in the context of relevant literature on the roles of journalists in and out of democracies.

Influence of the graphical layout of television news on the viewers: An eye tracking study

Television news has continuously experienced several changes, especially related to graphic overlays. The problem with watching TV news is the way viewers receive and process information broadcast by these programmes, given the variety of visual and audio stimuli with which they are confronted. This study focuses on the influence of the graphical layout on the viewers. Specifically, it examines message recall related to TV news. These goals were achieved by means of a case study using eye tracking, applied in two types of TV news broadcasts: one with graphical elements and another with a clean feed (only with the anchor). Finally, participants answered a questionnaire on the contents within the various graphical elements overlaid on the TV news viewed.

2014 elections in Brazil: a study of presidential candidate's web pages campaign tool

Este artículo analiza el uso de Internet como espacio de campaña en Brasil, atendiendo al último periodo electoral de 2014. Toma como objeto de estudio las páginas webs de los tres principales candidatos a la presidencia: Dilma Rousseff (PT), Aécio Neves (PSDB) y Marina Silva (PSB). Este eje de investigación sigue la línea de estudios realizados dentro y fuera de España, con una amplia tradición académica, que analiza la estructura y principales características de las webs políticas. La propuesta desarrollada aquí actualiza esta metodología para aplicarla al caso brasileño más reciente y estudiar, de manera comparada, el desarrollo de los sitios web de los tres principales candidatos de Brasil, basándose en un análisis cuantitativo y semi-cualitativo de estos sitios web. El estudio tiene como punto de partida la discusión teórica sobre la modernización de las campañas electorales: desde los avances y las nuevas posibilidades añadidas, las páginas han avanzado en su desarrollo en términos estructurales, ofrecen nuevas características de interacción y más opciones de información política, avanzando, así, hacia la transparencia y participación. Los resultados obtenidos en este análisis indican que, en algunas dimensiones, las páginas presentan avances significativos - como por ejemplo, la actualización diaria - mientras que, en otras, mantienen, todavía, fórmulas básicas propias de la web 1.0.

This article analyzes the use of Internet as a space of campaign in Brazil during the last election period, in 2014. The object are the websites of the three main candidates for presidency: Dilma Rousseff (PT), Aécio Neves (PSDB) and Marina Silva (PSB). This research also follows other studies conducted inside and outside Spain, with a traditional method that analyses how the pages are structured and what are its main features. The proposal developed during this analysis modernizes the original methodology, applying for the most recent Brazilian case study, and observes the development of the pages from the three main candidates in Brazil, through a quantitative and qualitative analysis of their web pages. The study presents as theoretical starting point the discussion on the modernization of election campaigns: with advances and new possibilities, the websites have advanced on structural terms, offering various interactive features to citizens and going beyond political information, moving towards transparency and participation. The results of this analysis indicate areas of the websites presenting significant advances - such as daily updates - while on others areas it was used whit the traditional model of Web 1.0.

The Portuguese programme ‘one laptop per child' and its impact on families: a study on parents' and children's perspectives

This paper intends to present and reflect upon some of the findings emerging from a research project entitled “Navigating with ‘Magalhães': Study on the Impact of Digital Media on Schoolchildren” that was conducted at the Communication and Society Research Centre at the University of Minho, Braga, Portugal. The project focused on the politics of the governmental programme “One Laptop per Child” part of the Portuguese Technological Plan for Education, and the uses of the “Magalhães” computer, and other media, by children aged 8-10 years. This paper analyses the impact of this particular public policy on digital literacy of young children based mostly on the perspectives of parents and their modes of mediation. It also debates parents' and children's perspectives on parental rules on computer and Internet usage. It ends by concluding that the impact of this programme occurred mainly at the level of access rather than the social and educational uses and practices. It also highlights the importance of family in the way children access and use ICT.

As fontes de informação digitais sobre política: estudo exploratório com jovens adultos portugueses

Este artigo é um estudo exploratório quantitativo que visa aferir que fontes informativas digitais sobre política são utilizadas pelos jovens adultos portugueses dos 18 aos 34 anos. Os resultados do inquérito utilizado apontam para a preferência por órgãos de comunicação social como fontes de informação sobre política, dado o baixo nível de confiança nos websites de redes sociais.

This paper is an exploratory quantitative study that aims to assess which digital information sources about politics are used by the Portuguese young adults, aged 18 to 34 years old. The survey results indicate the preference for media as sources of information about politics, given the low level of trust in social networking websites.

A representação feminina na mídia esportiva: o caso Fernanda Colombo

Fundamentada na abordagem teórico-metodológica nos estudos culturais e nos estudos de gênero, pretendemos discutir a representação da mulher no futebol em Pernambuco. Um dos aspectos pouco conhecidos da história do futebol remete à inserção da mulher nesse universo “naturalizado” masculino. Objetiva-se compreender a representação midiática da mulher nos gramados. Pretende-se, dessa forma, analisar as formas de integração permitidas e proibidas às mulheres, e, sobretudo, os significados encerrados em tais permissões e proibições. O objeto de análise se centra na cobertura midiática da chegada da bandeirinha catarinense Fernanda Colombo ao Recife. Com efeito, analisaremos as peças produzidas nos dois principais jornais do estado: Jornal do Commercio e Diário de Pernambuco. O recorte metodológico se deu através da técnica da análise de discurso à luz das teorizações de Pecheux e Maingueneau, que nos possibilitou decifrar as intenções explícitas e implícitas dos enunciados.

Based on the theoretical-methodological approach in cultural studies and gender studies, we intend to discuss the representation of women in football in Pernambuco. One of the little-known aspects of soccer history refers to the inclusion of women in this universe "naturalized" male. The objective is to understand the media representation of women in soccer turf pitches. It is intended, therefore, to analyze the forms of integration allowed and forbidden to women, and especially the means closed in that permissions and prohibitions. The object of analysis focuses on media coverage of the arrival of Santa Catarina assistente referee Fernanda Colombo in Recife. Indeed, we will analyze the pieces produced in two main state newspapers: Jornal do Commercio and Diário de Pernambuco. The methodological approach was made through the discourse analysis technique in the light of theories of Maingueneau, which allowed us to understand the explicit and implicit intentions of the statements.

Business Communication in regions with low entrepreneurial development: the case of SMEs in southern Europe

En la economía globalizada actual, y en la denominada sociedad de la información, del conocimiento o sociedad red, la supervivencia y el crecimiento de las empresas debe basarse en el desarrollo de estrategias de Comunicación Empresarial que permita a las organizaciones de todo tipo establecer relaciones con todos aquellos públicos a los que su actividad pudiese afectar, ya sea para vender sus productos o servicios o para trasladar su identidad y conseguir buena imagen corporativa. Si bien la investigación de la Comunicación en las grandes empresas está más desarrollada, el nivel de análisis en el caso de las pequeñas y medianas empresas se encuentra aún en una fase muy embrionaria. Por las particularidades e importancia que este tipo de organizaciones tienen para las economías nacionales se considera necesario dedicar este trabajo a analizar la gestión de la actividad comunicativa que desarrollan las PYMES en la actualidad. En esta investigación se aplica una metodología cuantitativa fundamentada en la técnica de la encuesta que ha permitido determinar que, si bien estas empresas le dan importancia a la actividad de comunicación para establecer relaciones con sus públicos, ya sean clientes, públicos internos o cualquier otro tipo de público externo, su gestión se encuentra en un estado muy básico de desarrollo.

In today's globalized economy, the survival and growth of enterprises should be based on the development of strategies for Corporate Communication. Communication enables organizations of all kinds to establish relationships to sell its products or services or to transfer their identity and achieve good corporate image. While research Communication in large companies is more developed, the level of analysis in the case of small and medium enterprises is still at a very embryonic stage, despite the importance of SMEs to national economies. Because of this importance, is considered necessary to dedicate this work to analyze the communicative activity of SMEs today. This research applies a quantitative methodology based on the survey technique. It can be concluded that while these companies give importance to the activity of communication to build relationships with their audiences, management is at a very basic stage of development.

Disturbing gazes: The works of photographer Julia Margaret Cameron in the framework of Communication History and Gender Studies

El presente artículo tiene un doble objetivo. Por una parte se inscribe en la línea de los estudios de género que pretenden reivindicar las figuras de mujeres cuyas aportaciones en distintos terrenos del conocimiento han sido olvidadas o minimizadas tras la idea predominante de la genialidad como atributo masculino. En segundo lugar, busca profundizar en la Historia de la Comunicación rescatando las aportaciones de la fotógrafa inglesa Julia Margaret Cameron (1815-1879). Para ello se ha recurrido al análisis de fuentes directas como las fotografías hechas por la autora, así como al análisis de su autobiografía The annals of my glass house y a la revisión de investigaciones acerca de su trabajo. Las conclusiones demuestran que a pesar de la infravaloración profesional de la que fue objeto, Cameron llevó a cabo un trabajo fotográfico creativo y de sensibilidad artística, adelantándose en ocasiones a su tiempo.

This article has a double objective. On the one hand, it is contextualized under the gender studies that attempt to reclaim female figures whose contributions to different fields of knowledge have been forgotten or minimized because of the predominant idea of geniality as a male feature. On the other hand, it aims to deepen on the History of Communication in order to rescue the contributions of British photographer Julia Margaret Cameron (1815-1879). The methodology is based on the analysis of direct sources such as the photographs taken by this author, the analysis of her autobiography The annals of my glass house, and the review of previous research on her work. Conclusions show that, despite the professional underestimation that she suffered, Cameron accomplished a very creative and artistic photographic work which, in some cases, was ahead of her time.

Mobile Communications Initiatives: Channels, Content, Conversation and Trade Mapping in Europe and the USA

La implantación global de la telefonía móvil y el espectacular crecimiento del parque de smartphones y tabletas ha animado a la industria de los medios de comunicación a una clara apuesta por el diseño de estrategias para la elaboración de productos de contenidos pensados para los nuevos dispositivos. Este artículo presenta los resultados de catorce plataformas de medios digitales, 14 de ellas europeas y una de EE.UU. El trabajo analiza las similitudes y diferencias en sus iniciativas con el fin de observar cómo producen contenidos para diferentes canales y gestionan la conversación y el comercio. Para este propósito se ha usado una metodología mixta que combina técnicas cuantitativas y cualitativas de recopilación de la información. El análisis de contenido se centra en los sitios de noticias y sus apps móviles. Los resultados muestran que el contenido de la información en los móviles es principalmente textual pero también incluye fotografías. Hay limitadas posibilidades para la conversación y los proveedores de contenido informativo no se aprovechan de las características específicas de los dispositivos móviles.

The global implementation of mobile telephony and the growth the smartphone and tablets market has galvanized the printed media industry into focusing on the design strategies with the purpose of producing and re-purposing content for these devices. This article presents findings on 14 digital news providers mobile platforms, among which 13 operate in Europe and one in the United States. The article analyzes similarities and differences in their initiatives with regards to how they provide news content for different channels, how they enable conversation, and also their approach to commerce. For this purpose, a mixed methodology was used, combining techniques for obtaining both quantitative and qualitative information. The cross-sectional content analysis focused on mobile news sites and apps. The findings show that mobile news content is mainly textual, but also includes pictures. There are limited possibilities for conversation, as the news providers do not take advantage of such mobile device features much.