Questioning the merits and demerits of electronic communication in Social Work

This paper examines the social dynamics of electronic exchanges in the human services, particularly in social work. It focuses on the observable effects that email and texting have on the linguistic, relational and clinical rather than managerial aspects of the profession. It highlights how electronic communication is affecting professionals in their practice and learners as they become acculturated to social work. What are the gains and losses of the broad use of electronic devices in daily lay and professional, verbal and non-verbal communication? Will our current situation be seriously detrimental to the demeanor of future practitioners, their use of language, and their ability to establish close personal relationships? The paper analyzes social work linguistic and behavioral changes in light of the growth of electronic communication and offers a summary of merits and demerits viewed through a prism emerging from Baron’s (2000) analysis of human communication.

Investigative journalism in Mexico: between ideals and realities. The case of Morelia

The aim of this paper is to analyse the state of the investigative journalism in Mexico, especially the one that is practiced at the local level in the provinces. That is, this research is based upon a case study conducted in Morelia, the capital city of the state of Michoacán. The empirical evidence will show that there is an evident divergence regarding the practice of the investigative journalism: on the one hand, journalists are aware of what this concept involves and they consider that they practice it on a regular basis; but, on the other, the content analysis prove otherwise. In other words, the account of what is actually printed significantly differs from the news workers’ perceptions, because the former shows a poorly developed journalistic investigation practice.

Chemotherapy patient perception regarding communication with the healthcare staff

Purpose: To qualitatively explore the communication between healthcare professionals and oncology patients based on the perception of patients undergoing chemotherapy.Method: Qualitative and exploratory design. Participants were 14 adult patients undergoing chemotherapy at different stages of the disease. A socio-demographic and clinical data form was utilized along with semi-structured interviews. The interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed and content analysis was performed. Two independent judges evaluated the interview content in regards to emerging categories and obtained a Kappa index of 0.834.Results: Three categories emerged from the data: 1) Technical communication without emotional support, in which the information provided is composed of strictly technical information regarding the diagnosis, treatment and/or prognosis; 2) Technical communication, in which the information provided is oriented towards the technical aspects of the patient’s physical condition, while also providing psychological support for the patients’ subjective needs; and 3) Insufficient technical communication, win which there are gaps in the information provided causing confusion and suffering to the patient.Conclusions: Communication with emotional support contributes to greater satisfaction of chemotherapy patients. Practical implications: the results provide elements for the training of healthcare professionals regarding the importance of the emotional support that can be offered to cancer patients during their treatment.

"Google News" y el impacto de la Ley de Propiedad Intelectual en la prensa: un nuevo amanecer para la información

2015 se recordará como el gran año del cambio en los medios de comunicación, especialmente para la prensa. A lo largo del mismo se ha llevado a cabo una enconada lucha entre los editores y Google News, a la que se han sumado Yahoo News, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc., para determinar quién debe pagar por los contenidos, quién los creará, quién los distribuirá y quién y cómo los leerá. Nuevos pactos para nuevos lectores. Nuevos acuerdos para reflotar económicamente la prensa. Y todo ello bajo el paraguas de la Ley de Propiedad Intelectual en España y otras similares que se irán publicando o adaptando en Europa. Se ofrece un estudio y análisis de la situación previa al establecimiento de dicha ley y las consecuencias de su aplicación.

Las bibliotecas rurales en los medios de comunicación de la Región de Extremadura: un estudio de caso

El objetivo principal de este trabajo es, a través de las noticias publicadas en diversos medios de comunicación de la Región de Extremadura sobre bibliotecas rurales a lo largo de los últimos años, comprobar el impacto y la visibilidad de las bibliotecas en los medios. Para ello, se recopilan un total de 1196 noticias que, tras ser analizadas detalladamente, se reducen a 300 sobre las que versan los resultados del estudio. Esta disminución de noticias finales demuestra que el titular o los primeros párrafos no expresan exactamente el contenido de la noticia siendo necesario un análisis cualitativo de su contenido. Se concluye que: las noticias sobre bibliotecas rurales han decrecido en el periodo analizado (2007, 2008, 2012, 2013), siendo 2007 el año de mayor auge, si bien se ha observado un repunte en 2013 con respecto a 2012; las noticias sobre bibliotecas rurales de ámbito provincial (Badajoz y Cáceres) obtienen mayor porcentaje que las regionales y nacionales (sin representación); y el diario HOY es, con diferencia, el medio que acumula el mayor porcentaje de noticias sobre bibliotecas rurales.