30
Jan

A year of scientific research at ScienceFlows

ANA SERRA// The three European projects coordinated by ScienceFlows have been the protagonists of the work of this group of the Polibienestar Institute of the University of Valencia during the year 2019. Through CONCISE, PERSIST_EU and No Rumor Health, the research team has advanced in two of the lines of study on public understanding and social perception of science. In addition to these international projects, a new project funded by the Ministry of Science of the Government of Spain, ESMODA-ECO, has also been launched. Its goal is to study the image and trends of food from through the study of the communicative ecosystem from the beginning of the 20th century to the present. Last year we closed a book with the results of ESTENAS’ project, one of our researchers has defended her doctoral thesis and about twenty scientific publications have been submitted.

The first of the projects, CONCISE has organized five citizen consultations in five European countries (Portugal, Spain, Poland, Slovakia and Italy) in which 500 people participated. The objective of the consultations has been to listen to what citizens think about four scientific topics of interest (vaccines, complementary and alternative therapies, climate change and genetically modified organisms), in order to find out what factors influence the formation of their ideas, opinions and beliefs about science.

EAlong these same lines, the PERSIST_EU project has begun in 2019 the work to develop a tool (online platform), which will assess to what extent scientific training modifies the opinion of university students in four areas of interest (use of vaccines, complementary medicines and alternatives, climate change and genetically modified organisms). The objective is to quantify and measure the value of training and education of university students when making personal decisions related to science, technology, health and the environment.. .

The knowledge generated so far in this line of research has also led us to launch in 2019 an innovative project whose aim is to combat health disinformation and the so-called fake-news: No Rumor Health. In this way, ScienceFlows, in collaboration with four other partners, will develop an application that will allow users to corroborate the veracity of health information and, on the other, access digital resources that help citizens to determine the veracity of the information they receive.

ESMODA-ECO Project

Another project that was launched at the beginning of the year was ESMODA-ECO.This project funded by the Ministry of Science and Innovation aims to locate the patterns and trends that occur in the media and, currently on social networks, when building the imaginary about food. The chronological period selected has been between 1900 and 2020.

Citizen consultation in Valencia

Within the framework of the CONCISE project, on October 26, a citizen consultation was held at the Jardí Botànic de València, aimed at compiling the opinion of citizens on four thematic areas: vaccines, climate change, complementary therapies and transgenic products. Of the more than 600 people who registered to participate in the consultation, the ScienceFlows team chose 103 citizens.

En el marco del proyecto CONCISE, el 26 de octubre de 2019 se celebró una consulta ciudadana en el Jardí Botànic de València, destinada a recopilar la opinión de los ciudadanos y ciudadanas sobre cuatro áreas temáticas: vacunas, cambio climático, terapias complementarias y productos transgénicos. De las más de 600 personas que se registraron para participar voluntariamente en la consulta, el equipo de ScienceFlows, eleccionó 103 ciudadanos y ciudadanas.

Throughout the day, citizens participated in four debates and in the proposed activities. This citizen collaboration will allow the ScienceFlows research team to analyze activities and speeches over the next few months in order to determine which elements influence the most on the formation of scientific opinion in the population.

Thanks to the work carried out in each of them, the team is delving into what may be one of the greatest challenges of scientific communication of the moment: determining how citizens are informed about science and how this training influences their opinions and decisions. These consultations have allowed the CONCISE research team to extract a large amount of data that will allow us to find out how citizens are informed and, therefore, how public authorities and scientific communicators can improve their dissemination.

Scientific Publications

In 2019 we published a total of 16 articles and presented our work in Burgos, Madrid, London, Seville,Amsterdam, Oviedo, Tarragona, etc.

In addition, we conclude the book entitled Alternative Therapies in the Public Sphere

Finally, our researcher Lorena Cano has defended the doctoral thesis «Unconventional therapies in the digital sphere: Media, social and political representations».

Polibienestar

Since last year, ScienceFlows is part of the Institute for Research in Social Welfare Policies (Polibienestar), of the University of Valencia. This interdisciplinary institute brings together more than 100 researchers. Its objective is to contribute to the effectiveness and efficiency of public policies through innovative, comprehensive and inter-institutional proposals.

 AUTHORS  TITLE  REFERENCE
Alonso, F. , Moreno, C., y Eleazar, A. (2019) Edad, género y estatus profesional de los investigadores como indicadores de la percepción de Twitter en la difusión de la ciencia Perspectivas de la Comunicación, 12(1) ,157-184. Disponible aquí.
Cano-Orón, L., Mendoza-Poudereux, I. and Moreno-Castro, C. (2019) The rise of skepticism in Spanish political and digital media contexts  JCOM 18(03), A01. https://doi.org/10.22323/2.18030201. Disponible aquí.
Moreno-Castro, C., Corell-Doménech, M. y Camaño-Puig, R. (2019). Which has more influence on perception of pseudo-therapies: the media’s information, friends or acquaintances opinion, or educational background? Communication & Society, 32(3), 35-49. Disponible aquí.
Lopera-Pareja, E.H. (2019). “Las terapias alternativas y complementarias en las Cortes Generales: análisis del discurso parlamentario en el periodo 1979-2018. En: C. Moreno-Castro y L. Cano-Orón (Eds.).  Terapias alternativas en la esfera pública. pp. 93 – 142. Madrid, Comunidad de Madrid(España): Dextra Editorial, S.L., 2019. ISBN 978-84-17946-04-3
Lopera Pareja, E.H. (2019) El debate sobre las terapias alternativas y complementarias en España en la interfaz entre ciencia, política y sociedad (1979-2018).  Perspectivas de la Comunicación vol.12. Num. 2 (2019): Julio-diciembre
Moreno-Castro, C., y Vengut-Climent, E. (2019) Información y mensajes sobre salud en los medios de comunicación. Revista de Medicina Familiar y Atención Primaria. 24(3), 4p. Disponible aquí.
Lacroix, A., Vengut-Climent, E., de Rochambeau, D. y Sleiman, H. (2019) Uptake and Fate of Fluorescently Labeled DNA Nanostructures in Cellular Environments:  A Cautionary Tale. ACS Cent. doi: 10.1021/acscentsci.9b00174
Cano-Orón, L., Mendoza-Poudereux, I. y Moreno-Castro, C. (2019). ‘The rise of skepticism in Spanish political and digital media contexts’.  JCOM 18(03), A01. https://doi.org/10.22323/2.18030201. Disponible aquí
Cano-Orón, L. y Portalés-Oliva, M. (2019). Valoración y confianza de los espectadores de los programas de salud de TVE.  Arbor, 195 (793): a520. DOI
Cano-Orón, L. (2019). A Twitter campaign against pseudoscience: The sceptical discourse on complementary therapies in Spain.  Public Understanding of Science, 28(6), 679-695. DOI
Fenoll, V. y Cano-Orón, L. (2019). Communicative differences between emergent and traditional parties: An analysis of Facebook posts from Spain’s 2015 general election campaign.  Zer, 24(46) 37-51. Disponible aquí
Cano-Orón, Lorena (2019). “Dr. Google, what can you tell me about homeopathy? Comparative study of the top10 websites in the United States, United Kingdom, France, Mexico and Spain”. El profesional de la información, v. 28, n. 2, e280213. Disponible en español aquí
Cano-Orón, L. (2019).  Aproximación al estado y discurso de las medicinas complementarias e integrativas en Estados Unidos y Canadá.  En C. Moreno-Castro y L. Cano-Orón (coords.), Terapias alternativas en la esfera pública(pp. 53-70) . Madrid: Dextra Editorial.
Cano-Orón, Lorena (2019). Dr. Google, what can you tell me about homeopathy? Comparative study of the top10 websites in the United States, United Kingdom, France, Mexico and Spain El profesional de la información, v. 28, n. 2, e280213. Disponible en español aquí
López García, G.; Iglesias, M. y Cano-Orón, L. (2019). Cibermitjans valencians: continguts, estructura i activitat a les xarxes socials. En G. López García (ed.) La comunicació a la Comunitat Valenciana (2010-2018): Crisi i canvi(pp. 229-251). Valencia: Institució Alfons el Magnànim
Corell-Doménech, M. (2019). Terapeutas alternativos en México y la Estrategia de la OMS sobre medicina tradicional 2014-2023: comunicación, creencias y factores socio-económicos. Perspectivas de la comunicación12(1) 59-77. Disponible aquí.
Roger-Monzó, V. y Martí-Sánchez, M. (2019). Estudio longitudinal sobre el tratamiento de la homeopatía en la prensa digital española (2012-2016). El profesional de la información, 28, 2, e280216. Disponible aquí
Cabrera,  Y.  y  Roger-Monzó,  V.  (2019). Construcción del  imaginario  social de las terapias alternativas a través del discurso en redes sociales:  caso de estudio del canal “Terapias alternativas y remedios naturales”. Perspectivas de la Comunicación, 12(1), 79-99. Disponible aquí.
Roger-Monzó, V. y Martí-Sánchez, M. (2019). Estudio longitudinal sobre el tratamiento de la homeopatía en la prensa digital española (2012-2016). El profesional de la información, 28, 2, e280216. Disponible aquí

Translation: Amaia Crespo