News

Dissemination area
14
Mar

The Routledge group publishes some of the conclusions of the CONCISE project

Isabel Hinarejos// Coordinated and edited by Carolina Moreno-Castro, Aneta Krzewińska and Małgorzata Dzimińska, the book titled “How citizens view science communication. Pathways to knowledge” collects some data extracted from CONCISE citizen consultations and offers strategies for effective science communication. The book is published under a creative commons license. One of the objectives of the CONCISE project was to improve knowledge about how European citizens acquire their knowledge related to science and technology, as well as evaluate citizens’ perception of science news. Thus, through five citizen consultations in which 497 Europeans participated, citizens debated four topics of social and scientific relevance:...
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22
Feb

ScienceFlows 2024: Citizen perception, misinformation and science

We begin 2024 by sharing the perspectives and new horizons we have at ScienceFlows for the upcoming months. This year presents itself as an important period for our social research projects, designed with the firm intention of placing people at the core of scientific research. In 2023, we closed some of the projects that have allowed us to advance in recent years on the public understanding of science and the social perspective of science communication. As in previous years, we take stock, looking ahead to the future challenges of 2024, which will be marked by new projects that have just...
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18
Jan

A research work analyzes the content published by nutrition macro-influencers on Instagram

ANA SERRA// A research carried out by the ScienceFlows group has studied the visual and textual discourse of 98 macro-influencers (profiles with more than 100,000 followers) on Instagram who disseminate nutrition content. The study was carried out by analyzing the content of influencers in five European countries: France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom. The study was carried out based on the analysis of the images, the texts that accompany them and the hashtags used. In this way, researcher have conclude that macro-influencers on Instagram fundamentally promote eating habits focused on a specific physical change, through the consumption of...
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11
Jan

Registration open for the Fira Experimenta 2024 of the University of Valencia

ANA SERRA// Once again this year, the Faculty of Physics of the University of Valencia organizes the Experimenta Fair-Contest in April aimed at ESO, Baccalaureate, Vocational Training and intermediate level training cycles. The registration period will remain open until January 29. To participate, it is necessary to present a description of a project in the STEM field (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) that reveals some physical principle. Up to four students can participate in each project. The contest has also established two forms of participation, physics demonstrations and experiments and technological application projects. XIX edition For each of the two participation...
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22
Nov

Keys to collaboration between experimental sciences and social sciences

The social impact of some experimental science research requires interdisciplinary collaboration with social science teams that allows the problem addressed to be comprehensively addressed. An example of this is the NoSUM project, whose objective was to design an easy-to-use chemical submission drug detection kit. The project has recently published a book that includes the successful strategies and tools that have enabled more than 600 people to participate in the co-creation workshops and more than 1,000 to respond to the survey. The NoSUM project is an example of how collaboration between experimental and social sciences contributes to developing products appropriate to...
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23
Oct

ScienceFlows participates in the second international meeting of the COALESCE project, within the framework of the XIX congress of Comunicación Social de la Ciencia, held in Granada (October 24-27, 2023)

ANA SERRA/ CAROLINA MORENO In a world in which science and technology increasingly play a greater role in people’s lives, the importance of effectively communicating scientific advances is fundamental for understanding and decision-making. However, we often find gaps between available scientific knowledge and its understanding by society, which contributes to the spread of scientific misinformation and the weakening of public trust in science. To address this challenge, ScienceFlows is part of the European project team COALESCE (Coordinated Opportunities for Advanced Leadership and Engagement in Science Communication in Europe), which aims to create a European Competence Center for Science Communication. This...
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10
May

ScienceFlows participates in the XVII International Conference on Public Communication of Science and Technology (PCST2023)

CAROLINA MORENO CASTRO AND PAULA VON POLHEIM / In this edition of PCST2023, the central theme of the conference has been Creating common ground, intending to foster a collaborative network of researchers and professionals in science communication that includes areas such as science journalism, citizen participation, citizen science, informal science education and innovation. It is an opportunity to create, engage and collaborate with scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs, policymakers and the general public in building partnerships between researchers and stakeholders. The city of Rotterdam (The Netherlands) hosted this 17th edition of the International Conference on Public Communication of Science and Technology (PCST)...
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4
Oct

The Mediterranean diet: the ‘star’ diet in the press in the last decade

ANA SERRA / A team of three researchers belonging to the ScienceFlows group of the University of Valencia has presented a study in which they analyse the ‘star’ diets of the last decade in the four most read digital newspapers in Spain. The conclusions of the study have been published in the magazine Cuadernos.info. DSince the beginning of the twenty-first century, interest in diets and food has been increasing. As the researchers Isabel Mendoza-Poudereux, Vanessa Roger-Monzó and Myriam Martí-Sánchez point out in the paper “Las dietas ‘estrella’ en la prensa digital (2011-2020). Análisis semántico sobre patrones de alimentación” (‘The ‘star’...
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2
May

IBERIFIER launches a survey to find out the perception of citizens about ‘side effects’ of misinformation in Spanish and Portuguese media ecosystem

CAROLINA MORENO CASTRO /  The ScienceFlows research team of the University of Valencia, together with Mediaflows researchers, coordinates the launch of the first IBERIFIER survey, with the aim of gathering the opinions of the public on the impact that the publication of false or erroneous news in the media could generate on the credibility and trust of people. As well as if the publication of disinformation could produce some time of economic impact on the communication industry in Spain and Portugal. The results obtained in the survey, together with interviews that will be carried out with media directors, will be...
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13
Apr

The Experimenta Fair returns with 68 projects by ESO, Baccalaureate and vocational training students

NICOLÁS DOPAZO /  The Experimenta fair-contest, convened by the Faculty of Physics of the University of Valencia, celebrated its XVII edition on Sunday, April 10, at the Valencia Science Museum. After a couple of years of limited presence due to the pandemic, more than 2,500 people attended the exhibition of the 68 scientific and technological projects presented and explained by ESO, Baccalaureate and vocational training students, of which 57% were women. Between students and teachers, this edition brought together 270 participants. The objective of the initiative is for the participating students to prepare experimental projects in the STEM field with...
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4
Mar

CADENUSA: a project on misinformation and hoaxes in nutrition and food safety

ANA SERRA Within the framework of the ESMODA ECO project, ScienceFlows is preparing to launch a campaign on misinformation in nutrition and food with the aim of creating informative materials that allow citizens to detect hoaxes and learn to consult reliable sources of information. In recent years, social interest in nutrition and diet has increased, something that is reflected, among others, in the growing number of news published on this subject and the number of followers that dieticians-nutritionists accumulate on social networks. However, as the pandemic situation has revealed, misinformation and hoaxes circulating on social networks are also related to...
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21
Oct

ScienceFlows joins IBERIFIER, the Spanish-Portuguese observatory that will monitor the misinformation circulating in the digital ecosystem of Spain and Portugal

The ScienceFlows team at the Polibienestar Institute will lead UVEG’s participation as a partner in the European IBERIFIER project, together with Mediaflows researchers in Language Theory and Communication Sciences. Both ScienceFlows and Mediaflows research teams come together to work together at the Spanish-Portuguese observatory IBERIFIER (Iberian Digital Media Research and Fact-Checking Hub), which will investigate and monitor misinformation circulating in digital environments. This European project, which is coordinated by the University of Navarra, with 1.47 million euros in funding from the European Commission. The consortium is made up of 23 Spanish-Portuguese institutions (twelve universities, five verification organizations and news agencies,...
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7
Oct

II edition of the workshops of the NOSUM project on chemical submission

During the fall of 2021, the NOSUM project team will carry out a series of 1.5-hour workshops aimed at university young students that will discuss chemical submission, the drugs that are commonly used for this purpose, and the kit developed by the MODeLic research group for the detection of the drug GHB in beverages will be tested. The workshops will be held in person at the three campuses of the University of Valencia and online for those who study at universities in other cities. At the end, the participants will receive a batch of kits that can be used at...
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1
Oct

The NoRumourHealth project launches health disinformation workshops for older people

ANA SERRA /  Within the framework of the NoRumourHealth project, the ScienceFlows research group together with the FyG consultancy has launched a series of workshops aimed at those over 65 years of age. The objective of these workshops is to offer training to learn how to distinguish health hoaxes from evidence-based information. As various studies have pointed out, the spread of hoaxes can pose a threat to public health. In addition, the sector of the population most likely to share fake news is that of those over 65 years of age. In fact, this population group was the one that...
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7
Sep

Daniel Ramón: “Science offers you logical explanations of topics on which you had not realized, and people like that”

ANA SERRA /  Within the framework of the ESMODA-ECO project, ScienceFlows interviews Daniel Ramón, PhD in biotechnology and vice president of R&D in nutrition and health at Archer Daniels Midland Co (ADM-Biópolis), a multinational dedicated to massive genomic sequencing, to talk about the social perception of food science and technology and of the latest advances in nutrition and dietetics. Daniel Ramón is committed to research and the transfer of knowledge to society. He was a full-professor of Food Technology at the University of Valencia (2002-07) and Research Professor at the Higher Council for Scientific Research (2008-10). In 2011, he created...
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2
Jul

ScienceFlows organises a seminar that explains to university students how to act against chemical submission drugs and the UV kit to prevent them

ANA SERRA /  Within the framework of the NOSUM project (Design and Evaluation of a personal kit to prevent sexual assaults by chemical submission), the ScienceFlows research group of the University of Valencia (UV) will carry out on July 7, 9 and 15 at 17:00 an online seminar aimed at young university students in which it will be explained what chemical submission is and the drugs used to nullify the will. In addition to this, the operation of the kit developed by the MODeLic research group of the University of Valencia that detects the drug GHB or liquid ecstasy in...
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17
Jun

Study on the perception of the risk of assaults by chemical submission

ANA SERRA /  The ScienceFlows research group, together with the Interuniversity Institute for Molecular Recognition and Technological Development (IDM), we have launched a survey within the framework of the NOSUM project, the objective of which is to study the perception of the risk of attacks by chemical submission. Anyone over 18 years old can participate in the survey through the following link. In addition, those who are interested in participating in the study to test the GHB detection kit in drinks will be able to register their email to receive the information and become part of the study.
18
May

Citizen consultations on science communication: A citizen science approach

Abstract Citizen science is part of a wider trend in science and society of promoting two-way dialogue and engagement between scientists and the public, by involving citizens in the research process. This paper examines how CONCISE, an international research project involving Spain, Italy, Portugal, Poland, and Slovakia, seeks to understand how citizens acquire and use scientific information, by engaging citizens through public consultations. The consultations gathered close to 500 citizens in 2019. Asking them for suggestions on how to improve science communication and involving them in the dissemination efforts, CONCISE aims to put citizens at the core of the research...
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7
May

Presentation of the book Standard Indicators for Science Social Appropriation

ANA SERRA /  The PERSIST_EU Project has presented the book Standard Indicators for Science Social Appropriation in which are compiled the conclusions of the Project. The book also offers a wide guide to take the most of the evaluation platform developed within the Project. The main goal of the Consortium members is to offer to stakeholders a guide that allows them to use the digital platform and make the most out of it. The platform allows evaluating the changes in perceptions, attitudes, knowledge, and beliefs after taking part in a science activity. This platform is available free and it is...
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3
May

The 16th edition of the Experimenta Fair shows 30 projects by high school students

The Experimenta Fair, convened by the Faculty of Physics of the University of Valencia, celebrated its 16th edition on Sunday, April 25 at the Burjassot campus. On this occasion, the School of Engineering (ETSE) hosted the event in person with limited capacity, while it was broadcast for the first time from digital platforms to facilitate that a larger public could enjoy the event regardless of where it was held. This initiative is aimed at students of ESO, Bachillerato and training cycles and aims to prepare an experimental project in the STEM field, show it and explain it. Proposals can belong...
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7
Apr

Webinar: How to use the PERSIST ICT tool in training and scientific dissemination

EMPAR VENGUT CLIMENT /  Within the framework of the PERSIST project, the ScienceFlows research team in collaboration with Observa, Danmar Computers, Trnava University, the KIT Institute of Technology, the ICS Institute of Social Sciences and FyG consultants have developed a digital tool that allows measuring the change in the perception, beliefs, attitudes and opinions of people before and after participating in a scientific training activity. This tool, which has already been used in the Virtual ScienceCamps held in Spain, Italy, Portugal, Poland and Slovakia is specially designed to be used in scientific training activities such as talks, round tables, workshops...
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31
Mar

Participa en la encuesta del proyecto ESMODA-ECO

ANA SERRA /  En el marco del proyecto ESMODA-ECO las investigadoras Myriam Martí y Yolanda Cabrera han lanzado una encuesta con el objetivo de analizar los factores que inciden en la satisfacción de las personas que viajan por el placer de la gastronomía. Si has visto la serie  #foodielove puedes participar en esta breve encuesta ¡te estaremos muy agradecidas! Enlace para participar en la encuesta
30
Mar

Webinar para personal investigador y académico

ANA SERRA /  El proyecto PERSIST ha creado una herramienta de acceso abierto y gratuita que permite evaluar el cambio en la percepción, la creencia, los conocimientos y la confianza después de una sesión de formación científica. En el marco de este proyecto financiado por la Comisión Europea en el marco del programa Erasmus+, ScienceFlows organiza una sesión en la que explicaremos cómo sacarle partido a la herramienta para utilizarla en las actividades de formación científica. Folleto informativo sesión aula María Zambrano Es imprescindible inscripción previa en este enlace http://bit.ly/webinar-persist
30
Mar

Sesión para personal docente

ANA SERRA /  El proyecto PERSIST ha creado una herramienta de acceso abierto y gratuita que permite evaluar el cambio en la percepción, la creencia, los conocimientos y la confianza después de una sesión de formación científica. En el marco de este proyecto financiado por la Comisión Europea en el marco del programa Erasmus+, ScienceFlows organiza una sesión en la que explicaremos cómo sacarle partido a la herramienta para utilizarla en las actividades de formación científica. Folleto informativo sesión grupo Comunicar Es imprescindible inscripción previa en este enlace http://bit.ly/webinar-persist
30
Mar

Sesión para periodistas, divulgadores y personal de unidades de cultura científica

ANA SERRA /  El proyecto PERSIST ha creado una herramienta de acceso abierto y gratuita que permite evaluar el cambio en la percepción, la creencia, los conocimientos y la confianza después de una sesión de formación científica. En el marco de este proyecto financiado por la Comisión Europea en el marco del programa Erasmus+, ScienceFlows organiza una sesión en la que explicaremos cómo sacarle partido a la herramienta para utilizarla en las actividades de formación científica. Folleto informativo sesión AECC Es imprescindible inscripción previa en este enlace http://bit.ly/webinar-persist
10
Mar

MODeLiC and ScienceFlows launch NOSUM project to develop a personal kit that allows the detection of chemical submission drugs in beverages

ANA SERRA /  NOSUM project, led by MODeLiC research group and in which ScienceFlows is a member has developed a system of colorimetric sensors that change color in the presence of γ-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB). GHB is a colorless, odorless compound with a slightly salty taste that causes the override of the will of the person who ingests it. This compound, banned in Spain, has been present in at least 100 cases of sexual assault according to data provided by the National Police. The problem is that, in addition to being undetectable to the eye, GHB is metabolized very quickly. When victims recover,...
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18
Feb

ScienceFlows joins the FIT FORTHEM consortium whose objective is to strengthen interuniversity collaboration in innovation and research

ANA SERRA /  The ScienceFlows research team has joined the FIT FORTHEM consortium, a project that arises in a complementary way to the FORTHEM project and whose objective is to strengthen the European interuniversity network to promote collaboration in innovation and research. FIT FORTHEM is funded by the European Commission under the H2020-SwafS call. The project, with a duration of three years and a total endowment of 2 million euros, is made up of seven European universities. As the Universitat de València explained in a press release, FIT FORTHEM was born to draw a map of joint research policies that...
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28
Jan

CONCISE presents the results of its research and concludes that people’s trust in information sources is a key factor to improve science communication

ANA SERRA /  The CONCISE project, coordinated by the ScienceFlows group of the University of Valencia, has presented the main conclusions of the analysis of the data collected from the citizen consultations held in 2019. The results of the research show that citizens demand that universities and public research centres acquire a more relevant role in the dissemination of science. The aim of the project has been, as its coordinator, Carolina Moreno, explains, to know the role that science communication plays in the origin of beliefs, perceptions and scientific knowledge of European citizens. For this, five citizen consultations were designed...
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15
Jan

The Spanish partners of the CONCISE team present the results of the citizen consultation held in Valencia in 2019

ANA SERRA /  The four Spanish partners of the international CONCISE team (ScienceFlows-UVEG, the Spanish Association for Scientific Communication, UPF Studies Centre on Science, Communication and Society and FyG Consultores) presented the main conclusions of the project in an online activity on January 14. The event, in which around 100 attendees participated, took place virtually and was aimed at science communicators, healthcare workers, research personnel, as well as members of public institutions. Several researchers from the CONCISE project presented the main recommendations that have been drawn from the results of citizen consultations, as well as the conclusions of the study...
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16
Dec

The Faculty of Physics convenes the XVI Experimenta Fair for the dissemination of science and the promotion of STEM projects in secondary education

The Faculty of Physics of the University of Valencia has convened the XVI edition of the Fair-Competition of experiments and demonstrations of Physics and Technology aimed at students of ESO, training cycles and baccalaureate. Registration is open until February 1. The objective of the Fair is that individually or in groups of a maximum of 4 components and with the help of the teachers, the students prepare an experimental project in the STEM field, show it and explain it. Although the proposals can belong to any field or topic, it is essential that they highlight some physical principle or its...
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23
Nov

EU policy dialogue on Science Communication

ANA SERRA /  The CONCISE consortium has presented recommendations for legislators and policy makers to improve science communication from public institutions at the EU Policy Dialogue conference. The event took place online and brought together 157 people. The policy dialogue was welcomed by Ms Signe Ratso, General Director for Research and Innovation from the European Commission, who, through a video, highlighted the importance of science communication: “the communication of science – she said – is essential to transfer scientific knowledge and recommendations on crucial issues to society. ” In this regard, she underlined how the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the...
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19
Nov

CONCISE standard public consultations book published

ANA SERRA /  The CONCISE consortium has published the standard of the process of organising the five citizen consultations that took place between September and November 2019 in Italy, Poland, Slovakia, Spain and Portugal. The consultations had the aim of finding out the role of science communication in the knowledge and perception of European citizens about scientific topics. The book, available under a Creative Common license, describes the first stage of the research. It details the entire organisation process: descriptions of how each one of the consultations was organised and staged, in addition to the scripts used in the different...
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5
Oct

The PERSIST_EU project reopens the registration process for the cycle of university debates on science

ANA SERRA Next 29 October, 5, 6 and 7th November will take place the debates on science organized by the ScienceFlows team within the framework of the PERSIST_EU project. The discussions, initially scheduled for the month of April which were cancelled due to the health emergency, will take place online through the Blackboard platform. The goal of these debates, that will also take place in four other European countries (Portugal, Italy, Germany and Slovakia), is to find out how the training of university students influences their decision-making. To this end, four debates have been organized around four topics that generate...
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22
Sep

We identified that one in five hoaxes about COVID-19, sent via WhatsApp, promoted the use and consumption of substances of natural origin

ANA SERRA /  An investigation published in Gaceta Sanitaria by the ScienceFlows team confirms the COVID-19 infodemic in Spain and concludes that “approximately an average of four hoaxes were sent daily about direct actions on people’s health. One of the possible reasons why these hoaxes were spread was because of the appeal of the messages, because of the home use strategies and because the medical authority criteria was used in the dissemination of the hoaxes”. No doubt, the COVID-19 pandemic has triggered an unprecedented spread of disinformation. In fact, the main mobile phone operators in Spain warned during the first...
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8
Jul

And after consulting the citizens … what happens?

ANA SERRA /  Months of intense work culminated in December with the first phase of the CONCISE project: the organisation of five citizen consultations in Spain, Italy, Portugal, Poland and Slovakia whose objective was to listen and find out how citizens form their scientific opinions. But what happens after the 500 citizens have shared their points of view on science? The 58 round tables on climate change, vaccines, alternative and complementary medicines and genetically modified organisms have generated more than 500 hours of discussion. To be able to work with the data and study them, it was necessary to fully...
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22
Jun

The presence of negative news on mental health in the digital sphere is “significant” and contributes to the creation of social stigma

ANA SERRA /  In order to identify the image that spreads about mental health in the digital sphere, ScienceFlows researchers Lorena Cano, Empar Vengut and Carolina Moreno have carried out a quantitative-qualitative content analysis of news in digital media and publications of Facebook pages. One of the main conclusions they have reached is that, although most messages have a positive focus, the presence of information with negative connotations is significant enough to perpetuate social stigma. To carry out the research, an analysis was carried out on a sample of 370 news items published between August 2016 and January 2017 and...
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9
Apr

Communicating the risks. Science and technology in the information society

ANA SERRA The coronavirus pandemic has put on the table, among others, the essential role played by the media in times of crisis when health and safety may be threatened. The analysis of contemporary scenarios of sanitary and environmental history that are included in Communicating the risks. Science and technology in the information society offer a learning that can contribute to institutions, journalists and disseminators to effectively communicate during this global crisis. Risk communication was originally conceived in the 1960s as a communication aimed at “informing non-experts”. Since then, the approach to risk management has been expanding. Today it is...
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19
Mar

ScienceFlows starts a research on the characteristics of hoaxes and fake news about COVID-19 received via WhatsApp

ANA SERRA Since the President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, announced last Saturday, March 14, the decree of the State of Alarm throughout the country, different hoaxes and fake news have been spread and disseminated via WhatsApp about the COVID-19. To carry out this study, we contacted our colleagues from Agencia SINC, Maldita Ciencia, Salud Sin Bulos and the Asociación para Proteger al Enfermo de Terapias Pseudocientíficas (APEPT) to to collect the largest volume of documents to analyse. Also, we have enabled an email account (coronavirus.scienceflows@gmail.com) and a WhatsApp line (+34 623 03 73 76) in case someone wants to send...
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18
Mar

The spread of hoaxes can pose a threat to public health

ANA SERRA Fake news and hoaxes have found the ideal ecosystem for disseminating on the Internet and in instant messaging applications. Research papers, such as the one published in the 2018 Health Policy and Technology magazine, have shown how fake news can pose a threat to public health. Likewise, an article published in the BMJ magazine pointed out the characteristics of what is known as denialism, that is on occasions, the prelude to disinformation; that is,identification of conspiracies; use of false experts; selectivity of citation; creation of impossible expectations of research; misrepresentation and logical fallacies and manufacture of doubt. A...
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3
Feb

The PERSIST_EU project seeks university students to participate in a European science debate

EMPAR VENGUT CLIMENT Next April 4, the PERSIST_EU science debate will take place at the University of Valencia with the aim of knowing what university students think about four topics that currently generate social controversy: vaccines, climate change, complementary and alternative medicine and genetically modified organisms. This debate is part of the cycle of European debates that will take place in the upcoming months in Italy, Portugal, Germany, Spain and Slovakia. In total, 500 students will contribute to this research whose objective is to know how the training of university students influences their decision making. For the debate that will take...
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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...
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24
Jan

Science feeds plants-based diets

ANA SERRA  Éric Úbeda Mompó, a journalist specialising in science communication, has presented his Master’s Thesis (TFM) “Science feeds plant-based diets”. This work, framed in the project “Study of fashions in food through the communicative ecosystem” (ESMODA-ECO RTI2018-099663-B-I00), aims to determine if the scientific evidence available so far endorses vegetarian and vegan diets. Over the past few years, the number of people who choose to follow a vegetarian or vegan diet has remarkably increased. Among the main motivations there is ethics, respect for animals, the environment and health. However, there is still some rejection for this food style in Western...
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8
Jul

ScienceFlows participates in the annual meeting of the Society of Experimental Biology

EMPAR VENGUT CLIMENT ScienceFlows researcher, Isabel Mendoza Poudereux, has attended the annual meeting of the Society of Experimental Biology (SEB), held in Seville during the 2-5 of July. Her presentation “How does the public build their opinions and beliefs related to scientific issues?” has made it possible to bring attendees the H2020 CONCISE project, led by our research group. This meeting is one of the most important international events in the area of biology. For four days, around 800 scientists from all over the world have gathered at the Conference and Exhibition Centre, FIBES II, to present their work, make...
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30
Jun

Valencian Mental Health Federation

The ScienceFlows research group, at the initiative of the Valencian Mental Health Federation, carried out a study whose objective was the representation of mental health in the media. Analysing the content of the digital press, studying Google searches, as well as Facebook pages dedicated to mental health, allowed the team to offer some conclusions: Although the presence of news and negative representations on mental health is not the majority, they are present in the media sphere in a way that contributes to the creation of stigma The spread of negative stereotypes has a greater impact on the fixation of false...
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6
Jun

PERSIST_EU meeting gives a boost to the development of this Erasmus+ project

EMPAR VENGUT CLIMENT From May 27 to 31, a training seminar was held at the headquarters of the Scientific Culture and Innovation Unit of the University of Valencia, aimed at Erasmus + Persist_EU project partners, coordinated by ScienceFlows. For five days, representatives of each of the countries that form the consortium met to define the characteristics and content of the ICT tool that will allow the evaluation of changes in the knowledge, perception, beliefs and confidence in science of university students. Likewise, it was defined what kind of training activities are going to be taught so as to be able...
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9
May

ScienceFlows participates in the conference “Communication and Health: Innovative experiences”

EMPAR VENGUT CLIMENT The ScienceFlows researcher Empar Vengut Climent has participated in the conference Communication and Health: Innovative Experiences, held on May 3 at the Catalunya Campus of the Rovira i Virgili University. Her lectured entitled “Design and implementation of an ICT tool to measure the impact of training on the perception of science of university students” has allowed to bring the Erasmus + Persist_EU project to the attendees, led by our research group. This conference was a meeting point to reflect and discuss different strategies of convergence between health and technology, with the aim of improving the communication process...
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9
Apr

ScienceFlows collaborates with Experimenta Fair-Contest 2018 for the promotion of scientific vocations

EMPAR VENGUT CLIMENT The XIV Edition of the Experimenta Fair-Contest 2018 was held on Sunday, April 7. Experimenta is organised every year by the Faculty of Physics of the University of Valencia. This initiative aims to convert Secondary Education students (ESO girls and boys, Baccalaureate and Intermediate Training Cycles) into active and creative protagonists, as well as science communicators. During the whole morning, the students show and explain their Physics and Technology experiments to all visitors approaching their stands. It is surprising how high school students interact with their audience, how they offer them direct interaction with their project in...
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22
Mar

The UPF hosts the pilot citizen consultation of the CONCISE project in which vaccines and climate change are discussed

EMPAR VENGUT CLIMENT After several months of preparation, the consortium of the CONCISE project meets on March 21 and 22 at the Studies Centre on Science, Communication and Society of the Pompeu Fabra University (Barcelona), to carry out the pilot test that will serve as a working guide for the five consultations that will take place in five European cities throughout 2019. This trial has brought together a total of 20 citizen volunteers to establish a dialogue on through what channels they have shaped their opinion on vaccines and climate change. The objective of this pilot consultation is to define...
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21
Feb

Impact in digital media of the ScienceFlows article on users Google searches about complementary therapies

EMPAR VENGUT CLIMENT A total of six digital media wrote about the article by the ScienceFlows researcher Lorena Cano, published in the Panace@ magazine. This work has allowed dismissing a relationship between the interest shown by the population that turn to Google in search of information about complementary therapies, their presence in digital media, and the use of these therapies by the Spanish population. For its part, the Europapress agency highlights that “the research conducted by Lorena Cano, also, allows us to understand how behavioural patterns work when looking for information and to know to what extent media influence the...
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8
Feb

Impact on media of the ScienceFlows research on the sociodemographic profile of the homeopathy user in Spain

EMPAR VENGUT CLIMENT The research work entitled “Perfil sociodemográfico del usuario de la homeopatía en España” (‘Sociodemographic profile of the homeopathy user in Spain’) conducted by ScienceFlows researchers Lorena Cano, Isabel Mendoza and Carolina Moreno, and published first online in the magazine Atención Primaria, last September appeared in, at least, 11 digital media, among which Agencia Sinc and El País stand out. The study was carried out based on the results of the CIS survey of February 2018. For this purpose, a subsample of 124 people was selected, who answered that they were homeopathy consumers. Based on the answers provided...
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7
Jan

Scienceflows coordinates a European project on the role of Science Communication in society

EMPAR VENGUT CLIMENT On December 13th and 14th, the kick-off meeting of the European project coordinated by ScienceFlows CONCISE (Communication role on perception and beliefs of EU Citizens about Science) was held at the House of Science in Valencia.  This project, with a funding of almost 1.2 million euros from the Horizon2020 programme of the European Commission, intends to study the role of science communication on the perception and beliefs of citizens of the European Union regarding science. Nine entities, including universities and companies, as well as the Spanish Association of Scientific Communication, are part of the consortium. The planning,...
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7
Jan

Scienceflows leads an Erasmus+ project which will evaluate the influence of training in decision making in science related issues of university students

EMPAR VENGUT CLIMENT On December 13th, the kick-off meeting of the higher education Erasmus + Project PERSIST_EU (Knowledge, beliefs, Perceptions about Science of European Students) was held at the House of the Science of Valencia. The main objective of this project is to quantify and measure the value of training and education in university students when making personal decisions related to science, technology, health and environment. Members from the seven institutions participating in PERSIST_EU gathered together last month to discuss about the main points to progress in unison for the correct development of the project. PERSIST_EU partners will develop an...
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23
Apr

On Scienceflows we support the scientific vocations of Secondary Education students

CAROLINA MORENO CASTRO On Sunday, April 22, the XIII edition of the Experimenta Fair-Contest 2018 was held convened and organised every year for thirteen years by the Faculty of Physics of the University of Valencia. This initiative aims to convert Secondary Education students (ESO girls and boys, Baccalaureate and Intermediate Training Cycles) into active and creative protagonists, showing their experiments in physics and technology to all audiences. The event will take place at the Príncipe Felipe Science Museum, in Valencia. During one morning, young students also become disseminators of science, since they explain the experiments selected for the fair to...
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23
Apr

CIS included the complementary and alternative therapies, in its February barometer

ISABEL MENDOZA POUDEREUX /  Last February 2018, the CIS (Center for Sociological Research) included in its barometer a questionnaire of 19 questions related to health issues, including questions about knowledge and use of 20 complementary and alternative therapies. The questionnaire asked about the therapies considered most popular among the Spanish population such as acupuncture, homeopathy, yoga and osteopathy. On March 8, the first results were made public, arousing great curiosity on traditional and social media. Until April 17, up to 21 news items have been counted in 18 digital media, including some of the main Spanish newspapers such as El...
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17
Apr

Six members of ScienceFlows attended PCST2018, in Dunedin, New Zealand

ISABEL MENDOZA POUDEREUX /  The Public Communication Network of Science and Technology (PSCT) held from 4-6 April 2018, its XV PCST, in Dunedin, New Zealand. This conference is the one with the greatest international relevance in the field of scientific communication, bringing together professionals from all over the world, including journalists specialized in STEM (science and technology), representatives of scientific institutions, such as museums. and the entire academic and research community. The general theme of PCST2018 was “Science, Stories and Society – the Soul of Science Communication”, in addition to a series of subtopics, the congress has been open to...
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26
Dec

ScienceFlows at the 9th Edition of the “Congreso Internacional Latina de Comunicación Social” (9th CILCS)

ISABEL MENDOZA POUDEREUX /  On December 4th, 5th and 7th, the 9th Edition of the “Congreso Internacional Latina de Comunicación Social” (9th CILCS) was held at the University of La Laguna (Tenerife) with the general theme of “The end of a policy model” and the hashtag # 9CILCS. The 9th CILCS included, during its three days of celebration, a multitude of discussion tables and keynote presentations on social communication. Lorena Cano and Isabel Mendoza, members of the Scienceflows group, presented some of their preliminary results on the representation of five of the most used by Spaniards complementary therapies (homeopathy, acupuncture,...
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29
Nov

ScienceFlows takes part at the “VI Congress of Social Communication of Science” (CCSC2017)

ISABEL MENDOZA POUDEREUX /  From November 22 to 25, the 6th Congress of Social Communication of Science (CCSC2017) was held under the slogan “Culture and Science. Old challenges, new media “, jointly organized by the University of Córdoba and the Spanish Association of Scientific Communication (AECC). The congress included posters, presentations and communications on the communication of science and welcomed more than 385 attendees. The hashtag chosen for the event was # CCSC2017 and became a trending topic on a national level, both on Thursday 23, and on Friday, November 24. The Congress was inaugurated by the Secretary of State...
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2
Nov

ScienceFlows participates in the 3ICHC – 3rd International Conference on Health Communication

ISABEL MENDOZA POUDEREUX /  On October 19 and 20, the 3rd edition of the International Conference on Health Communication was held at the Carlos III University of Madrid under the theme “Health in the 21st Century”. The 3ICHC included several discussion panels, presentations and communications on communication and health. As a novelty on this occasion, the participation of the congresspeople was both in person and online. As was done in the previous editions, all abstracts accepted in the 3ICHC have been published in the indexed journal RECS (Revista Española de Comunicación en Salud). Lorena Cano and Isabel Mendoza, members of...
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26
Oct

ScienceFlows takes part in the 1st Scientific Conference on Quality and Information Challenges

ISABEL MENDOZA POUDEREUX / On the 18th and 19th October, the “I Jornadas Científicas de Calidad y Retos informativos” (I Scientific Conference on Quality and Information Challenges), was held at the Faculty of Philology, Translation and Communication of the University of Valencia, organized by the working group “Journalism and quality information” of the Spanish Association of Communication Research (“Asociación Periodismo e información de calidad” de la Asociación Española de Investigación de la Comunicación” or AEIC). Researchers from different universities, both national and international, met for two days to share and discuss the results of their work. This work was of...
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10
Jul

Homeopathy in the spotlight

ISABEL MENDOZA POUDEREUX /  Lourdes Ramiro Carrillo, 4th year student of Journalism of the University of Valencia, has presented in June 2017 her Final Degree Project entitled: “Homeopathy in the spotlight”, carried out within the framework of the ESTENAS project, under the direction of Carolina Moreno. Lourdes Ramiro has collected statistics from public sources and has interviewed different actors and representatives of interest groups, both for and against homeopathy. Her work can be downloaded and consulted through the following link.
6
Apr

Seminar on the placebo effect with Josep Eladi Baños

LORENA CANO ORÓN /  On April 1, Josep Eladi Baños, doctor of Medicine and lecturer of Pharmacology at the Pompeu Fabra University (UPF), gave a seminar entitled “The incorporation of complementary therapies in medicine studies and approximations on placebo and nocebo effects”, in the Language Theory and Communication Sciences Department of the Universitat de València. From the beginning of the seminar, given to the members of the ESTENAS team, Josep Eladi Baños insisted on the need to clarify some points to be able to approach the complementary therapies also called natural or alternative. In the first place, he pointed out...
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26
Feb

Book promo “Institutional campaigns in public health”

LORENA CANO ORÓN /  On February 24th, at  “Casa del Libro” in Valencia, book promo of “Institutional Campaigns for Public Health. The Case of the HPV Vaccine ” (in spanish “Campañas institucionales de salud pública. El caso de la vacuna contra el virus VPH”) took place. Next to the editor, Carolina Moreno, were Javier Ordóñez, coauthor and professor of History of Science of the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, and  writer Carmen Amoraga. The three speeches emphasized the three main and defining aspects of Professor Moreno’s work. First, the discursive polyphony of the book, that presents arguments for and against immunization and...
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31
Jan

Public offer of a senior research support technician position

The deadline for submitting applications is from February 1 to February 10, 2017 In ScienceFlows we are looking for a research technician to support the ESTENAS project. The regulations of the call can be found in the DOCV published on January 31: www.dogv.gva.es/datos/2017/01/31/pdf/2017_622.pdf The general conditions of the job offer are: 1. To work on the project «Study and classification of the natural, complementary and alternative therapies through the media and the social networks. Ideas and values applied to the social imaginary» (ESTENAS). 2. Position: Senior research support technician. 3. Working hours: 20 weekly hours. 4. Object and duration: Support to field work, development and...
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11
Jan

Carolina Moreno publishes a monographic on the social debate of the human papillomavirus vaccine (HPV)

LORENA CANO ORÓN /  Do I vaccinate her, yes or no? This is the question asked by the parents of girls between the ages of 11 and 14 who, according to the official vaccination calendar of many Western countries, administer the three doses of the vaccine against HPV. Although the vaccine is included in the official calendars, approving all safety protocols of the regulatory agencies, uncertainty and doubt regarding its safety and side effects has been socially disseminated through the media and social networks. Campañas Institucionales en Salud Pública: El caso de la vacuna contra el virus VPH, the new...
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5
Dec

Videos of the #ComDigCV Data Journalism are now available

LORENA CANO ORÓN /  Last November 9 the Digital Communication Congress in the Valencian Community, focused on Data Journalism reached its eighth edition in the University of Valencia. As in previous years, the Congress hosted the interventions of journalism and communication academics and professionals, who presented their point of view and debated animatedly, among themselves and with the abundant public, formed by Journalism students of the University of Valencia and by professionals in the communication sector. The Congress began with the conference of José Luis Dader, Professor of Journalism at the Complutense University of Madrid and the main exponent of...
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11
Nov

VIII Congress of Digital Communication

LORENA CANO ORÓN /  On November 9 and 10, in Valencia, the eighth edition of the Digital Communication Congress took place, focused on this occasion in Data Journalism. The event was divided into two parts: the conference of the first day offered a theoretical vision on data journalism. After an inaugural lecture, the rest of the day was organised in three round tables in which reference keynote speakers from the academic and professional field discussed and debated the latest trends in data journalism; the second day consisted of a workshop of practical exercises introductory to the subject. José Luís Dader...
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7
Nov

Emilia Lopera publishes a book about the causes and consequences of the anti-vaccine movement

LORENA CANO ORÓN /  Emilia H. Lopera Pareja, member of the research group ScienceFlows and of the CIEMAT Scientific Culture Research Unit, has published the book El movimiento antivacunas. Argumentos, causas y consecuencias (‘The anti-vaccine movement. Reasons, causes and consequences’), in which she explores the origins and multiple implications of vaccine rejection that is taking place in some developed countries. Published by Los Libros de la Catarata, this volume is part of the Essays on Science and Society series, an initiative of the Organisation of Ibero-American States (OEI) to promote studies that combine research with accessibility and knowledge transfer to society....
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19
Sep

VIII Digital Communication Congress: Data Journalism

LORENA CANO ORÓN / In November, the Digital Communication Congress in the Valencian Community reaches its eighth edition, this time specialising in Data Journalism, a form of journalism that although it seems new and has set the media agenda of the past year (Los Papeles de Panamá, Los Papeles de la Castellana), has its roots in the 1950s. As you can see at the end of the post, the programme is full of experts who, of course, will leave no-one indifferent. The congress begins with an inaugural lecture by José Luis Dader (the academic who introduced data journalism in Spain...
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23
May

Attendance to the conferences ‘The path of well-being’

Yolanda Cabrera, researcher of the ESTENAS group, attended together with other members of the research team, during the days 19 and 20, the conferences, which under the motto “The path of well-being”, have been held at the Mercantile Athenaeum of Valencia, organised by the Ágora Bienestar Valencia (http://www.agorabienestar.es/). Throughout the presentations, talks and debates efforts have been made to offer a global vision of welfare thanks to the presence of experts in the field that have addressed the issue from a triple perspective. First, the wellbeing of the body to be healthy, with the presentation of some of the most...
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3
May

ScienceFlows at the PCST-2016

LORENA CANO ORÓN /  The 14th Public Communication of Science and Technology (PCST) Conference: The Global Conference on Science Communication was held on 26, 27 and 28 April in Istanbul, Turkey. The event was organized by the International Network on Public Communication of Science and Technology (PCST). This network includes scientific journalists, museum staff and science centers, academic researchers, scientific communicators, publicists, educators, broadcasters and people interested in these issues. Therefore, as can be deduced, it is a multidisciplinary network with the objective of addressing the public communication of science and technology. Carolina Moreno and Emilia Lopera contributed in the...
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21
Apr

II Conference on Media and Mental Health

LORENA CANO ORÓN / After the success of the I Conference on Media and Mental Health, the second edition was held today in the Faculty of Philology, Translation and Communication. On this conference, the importance of the media in topics and news related to mental health has been delved into. The ability and importance of the journalist to contribute to the elimination of discrimination and stigma suffered by people with mental illness has been highlighted. The first round table, entitled “Mental Health in the Media”, was formed by Juan Cruz (writer and journalist in El País), Concha Tejerina (editor in...
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9
Mar

Valérie Poinsot, CEO of Boiron, says homeopathy is just another medicine

CAROLINA MORENO CASTRO /  Researchers of the ESTENAS team have attended the press conference of the Boiron Laboratories. Investigadores del equipo ESTENAS han asistido a la rueda de prensa de Los Laboratorios Boiron. Valérie Poinsot, CEO of Boiron Laboratories, before the criticism from journalists, mass media and agents of the health sector has explained in press conference, in a central hotel of Madrid, today March 9, how her pharmaceutical group has participated between 2006 and 2010 in a study on the effect of homeopathy on 8,559 patients of the French health system. A total of 825 physicians have been part...
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27
Feb

ScienceFlows in the I International Congress on Data Journalism

LORENA CANO ORÓN /  What stand do political parties take towards non-conventional therapies? And what stance was taken on Twitter during the election campaign of the 2015 General Elections? Lorena Cano and Carolina Moreno presented on February 26 at the First International Conference on Data Journalism: New Narratives for Specialised Journalism, held at the UMA, a research that aimed to assess and study the treatment of non-conventional, complementary, alternatives or integrative therapies through electoral programmes of the 2015 General Elections of five political parties: Ciudadanos, Podemos, PP, PSOE and Unidad Popular, as well as the tweets of their leading candidates...
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3
Dec

I Conference on Media and Mental Health

LORENA CANO ORÓN /  On November 17 the first conference on Media and Mental Health was held at La Nau (Universidad de Valencia). The participants were professionals in journalism, the health sector and academia, whose combination turned out to be a very enriching multidisciplinary meeting. The program covered different perspectives in order to give voice to the different actors involved and researchers who are part, in one way or another, of the object being addressed. The main theme of the conference was how the media addresses mental health. The Janssen laboratories, represented by Ramón Frexes, provided a more practical view...
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