Ibero-American Region Research Articles

Loved everywhere?: Netflix’s top 10 and the popularity of geographically diverse content

Using Netflix’s weekly Global Top 10 lists for English-language and non-English-language series and films, this article highlights some of the ways in which the world’s most popular streaming platform misrepresents both the production and consumption of its most popular geographically diverse global content. First, the Global Top 10 lists create a series of false equivalencies between the popularity of English-language and non-English-language content that mask the difference in production budgets between the two categories. Second, Netflix’s publicized data isolates the global audience distribution of non-English-language content from other economic, technological, cultural, and political factors affecting local media ecosystems as demonstrated through an analysis of South Korea. Third, in failing to account for genre-related differences, the Global Top 10 lists distorts audience behavior in the Ibero-American region. Despite the variety of limitations presented by the incomplete audience data from Global Top 10 lists, when properly contextualized with recent academic research and economic information extracted from the specialized trade press publications, this article argues that the relationship between global streaming audiences and geographically diverse content is far more complex than it appears in the Netflix’s industrial discourses.

Principais fatores da avaliação da qualidade acadêmica para programas de pós-graduação: uma análise comparativa

Objective. This article derives from a research study that aims to identify the primary factors in assessing the academic quality of postgraduate programs, as applied by various self-assessment models in the Ibero-American region. Methodology. A qualitative investigation was conducted using comparative education methods to analyze seven existing self-assessment models in Chile, Ecuador, Central America, Colombia, and Spain. Units of analysis were established to compare the criteria and evidence of each model, utilizing individual and unified matrices to systematize all studied elements. Results. The findings identified levels of relevance between the factors and their corresponding evidence in determining the quality of a graduate program. Conclusion. Among all the proposed categories for analysis, the three most important are pedagogical factors, administrative factors, and impact assessment.

Dos doutorados acadêmicos aos doutorados profissionais: análise comparativa de experiências na Ibero-América

Abstract Professional Doctorates (PD) as a model of doctoral training, parallel to and independent from the traditional Academic Doctorates, began to expand throughout the 1990s in countries of the Anglo-Saxon world, echoing timidly in Ibero-American countries. This article carried out a comparative study between the PDs of Brazil and Mexico, the only countries in the Ibero-American region that have created PDs in their educational systems, aiming to analyze their convergences, divergences, and specificities. This is an exploratory, analytic-descriptive, bibliographic, and documental study. Among other important findings, it is noteworthy that unlike the Mexican norms that relate PD specifically to the professional development of doctoral students, in Brazil there is a broader, prevailing conception aimed at increasing the productivity of companies and public and private organizations, technology transfer and the production of innovative knowledge.

The role of technological innovation in the mitigation of the crisis generated by COVID-19: an empirical study of small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) in Latin America

Purpose This article aims to analyze the role of innovation in mitigating the economic crisis generated by the coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in Latin American small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The goal is to determine whether actions, activities, and perceptions related to impact and positioning within three distinct areas—finance, management, and competition—contribute to increased innovation within companies, remain neutral in their effects, or have an inverse impact. Design/methodology The sample consisted of 9,186 SMEs from 14 countries in the Ibero-American region: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Spain, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, and Uruguay. The data were analyzed using a structural equation model (SEM). Findings The study provides empirical evidence that the SMEs in the Ibero-American region have faced the crisis generated by the COVID-19 with a predominant negative impact on their financial factors and sales. These impacts have affected the organization, particularly at the operational level, leading to the need for self-financing and more conscious resource management. The most significant finding is that, as financial challenges, as in productivity, turnover, and profitability, among other difficulties, increase innovation actions. Limitations Research exposes limitations that pave the way for future studies. Firstly, the study relies solely on data obtained from top-level company consultations. Second, there are variations in sample sizes by country. Practical implications The results reveal practical implications for SMEs owners and managers, shedding light on the influence of innovation in sustaining competitiveness during times of crisis. This, when combined with resilience, product quality, employee engagement and customer satisfaction, has facilitated the sustainability of a significant portion of SMEs that have weathered an unprecedented crisis. Originality-value The value of this work lies in highlighting the significance of innovation for SMEs and the opportunities that arise during a crisis to enhance competitiveness. Companies that have embraced innovations in the way they offer or deliver their products and services have managed to remain in the market despite the challenges posed by the crisis.

End-of-life care in neonatal intensive care units in Iberoamerica: A look from the nursing perspective

IntroductionEnd-of-life care (ELC) represents a quality milestone in neonatal intensive care units (NICU). The objective of this study was to explore how ELC are carried out in NICUs in Iberoamerica. MethodsCross-sectional study, through the administration of an anonymous survey sent to neonatal nursing professionals. The survey included general data and work activity data; existence and contents of ELC protocols in the NICU and training received. The survey was distributed by email and published on official SIBEN social networks. REDCap and STATA 14.0 software were used for data collection and analysis. ResultsWe obtained 400 responses from nurses from 11 countries in the Ibero-American region. 86% of the respondents are directly responsible for providing ELC, although 48% of them said they had not received training on this subject. Only 67 (17%) state that the NICU in which they work has a protocol that establishes a strategy for performing the ELC. Finally, the actions that are implemented during the ELC are globally infrequent (≤50%) in all the items explored and very infrequent (<20%) in relation to allowing free access to family members, having privacy, providing psychological assistance, register the process in the medical record, assist with bureaucratic processes or grant a follow-up plan for grief. ConclusionMost of the nursing professionals surveyed are directly responsible for this care, do not have protocols, have not received training, and consider that the ELC could be significantly improved. Strategies for ELCs in the Ibero-American region need to be optimized.

Cuidados al final de la vida en unidades de cuidado intensivo neonatal de Iberoamérica: una mirada desde la perspectiva de enfermería

IntroductionEnd-of-life care (ELC) represents a quality milestone in neonatal intensive care units (NICU). The objective of this study was to explore how ELC are carried out in NICUs in Iberoamerica. MethodsCross-sectional study, carried out in 2022 through the administration of an anonymous survey sent to neonatal nursing professionals. The survey included general data and work activity data; existence and contents of ELC protocols in the NICU and training received. The survey was distributed by email and published on official SIBEN social networks. REDCap and STATA 14.0 software were used for data collection and analysis. ResultsWe obtained 400 responses from nurses from 11 countries, 73% working in third level hospitals. A percentage of 86 of the respondents are directly responsible for providing ELC, although 48% of them said they had not received training on this subject. Only 67 (17%) state that the NICU in which they work has a protocol that establishes a strategy for performing the ELC. Finally, the actions that are implemented during the ELC are globally infrequent (≤50%) in all the items explored and very infrequent (<20%) in relation to allowing free access to family members, having privacy, providing psychological assistance, register the process in the medical record, assist with bureaucratic processes or grant a follow-up plan for grief. ConclusionMost of the nursing professionals surveyed are directly responsible for this care, do not have protocols, have not received training, and consider that the ELC could be significantly improved. Strategies for ELCs in the Ibero-American region need to be optimized.

High-performance computing activities in the Ibero American region

High-performance computing activities in the Ibero American region

Guest Editorial Development of Graduate Skills in Engineers in the Areas of Computing for Society 5.0

This Special Issue has focused on the subject of the development of graduation skills in computer professionals applied in the 5.0 society in the Ibero-American region, mainly considering the work in Projects of multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary training in the teaching processes of engineers and application of new technologies in Society 5.0. The Special Issue includes eight articles that cover a wide range of topics of this area, including graduate skills in Society 5.0, evaluation of the graduate skills of engineers, curricular innovations in the training of engineers for Society 5.0, new paradigms in the teaching of engineering toward Society 5.0, and application of new technologies in Society 5.0.

Guest Editorial Learning Analytics in IberoAmerica

Learning analytics is a key knowledge area for the improvement of education that proposes the use of educational data to improve decision making. In the last years, the Iberoamerican region has made a lot of efforts to introduce learning analytics and take advantage of its advantages. In this Special Issue, a set of proposals of learning analytics in this region are presented. The Special Issue includes four articles that cover a wide range of topics of this area, including adoption at the institutional level, analytics applied to academic improvement, video analysis, or visual analytics in learning management systems.

„In naives Plaudern“ geraten?

Kurt Pahlen’s activities in the Ibero-American region from 1939 to approximately 1970 were based on his musicological studies and musical activities in Vienna until 1938. Certificates of his studies at the university or press reports on his engagements in Vienna’s musical life shed light on Pahlen’s formation before his emigration to Switzerland, Argentina and Uruguay. In exile, he transmitted his knowledge of classical music to the Spanish-speaking world via articles and books on music history or radio and television broadcasts. His writings were commercially successful and, after their first edition in Latin America, they were often translated into German. As a result, Pahlen acted as translator between cultural contexts, audiences and media. An analysis of selected paragraphs of the books demonstrates, however, that he mainly transmitted his particular view of music, which was extremely time-bound and lost its relevance in later reprints. The reason for the divergent opinions of Kurt Pahlen’s work Spanish- and German-speaking scientific communities can be found in his rejection of academic musicology as he had got to know it in Vienna, and the increasingly superficial and subjective prose in his German reeditions. (Vorlage)

Fear of COVID-19, problems accessing medical appointments, and subjective experience of disease progression, predict anxiety and depression reactions in patients with Multiple Sclerosis

BackgroundDuring the current COVID-19 pandemic there are studies that have suggested a negative impact of the pandemic on the mental health of patients with multiple sclerosis (PwMS). In this sense, several factors may be related to the increase in experiences of anxiety and depression in PwMS during the current pandemic. ObjectiveIn this study we first explored the reactions of anxiety, depression and fear to COVID-19 in a group of PwMS that belong to the Ibero-American region. Besides, we explored whether having been positive to COVID-19, fear of COVID-19, the obstacles to attend medical appointments during the outbreak and subjective experience of MS progression, could predict the anxiety and depression reactions in our PwMS sample. Materials and methodsAn online cross-sectional survey was conducted on 202 MS patients from six countries (Argentina, Mexico, Spain, Dominican Republic, Venezuela and Cuba). For comparisons between variables an independent-samples t-test and one-way analysis of variance were used. Multiple linear regression was used to evaluate the effects of potential predictor variables over emotional reactions. ResultsOur results showed that PwMS who were positive for COVID-19 reported higher levels of fear of COVID-19 (p<.001) and also higher levels of anxiety (p<.001) compared to non-positive patients. Those patients who had difficulties attending their medical appointments during the outbreak showed higher levels of depression (p=.03) and anxiety (p=.019). Levels of anxiety (p<.001) and depression (p=.006) were also higher among patients with the subjective experience of MS disease progression. The reactions of fear of COVID-19, having been positive to COVID-19, problems attending medical appointments, and subjective experience of MS disease progression showed a high association with the negative impact of the pandemic on mental health of PwMS. ConclusionsOur results show that the situation generated by the COVID-19 pandemic has had a negative impact on the mental health of PwMS in our sample. Our results also alert to the importance of offering psychological care to patients with multiple sclerosis during the current outbreak, regardless of whether they have been positive for COVID-19.

Derecho a la información y protección de datos personales en el neoconstitucionalismo iberoamericano

El derecho a la información es uno de los derechos fundamentales consagrados enla Declaración Universal de los Derechos Humanos. En el mundo contemporáneo, en laera de la información, el acceso a ella se facilita como nunca en la historia, debido a quees posible transmitir datos de voz, texto y video en tiempo real. A pesar de la brechadigital que persiste en la región iberoamericana, es posible argumentar que esta se ha idocerrando de manera paulatina en los últimos años. La digitalización de la interacción social,la educación y los servicios públicos y privados se han convertido en una realidad tangible,con una enorme repercusión económica, social y política. Pero, también, los datos personales se encuentran, como nunca en la historia, expuestos a ser utilizados con fines ajenosal consentimiento del usuario. En el presente artículo buscaremos describir algunas de lasposibilidades y retos del derecho a la información y la protección a los datos personales.Igualmente, estudiaremos la manera en que ambos derechos deben ser protegidos porel constitucionalismo iberoamericano. El Estado mexicano no ha sido pionero en AméricaLatina en protección de datos personales, ni existen en su territorio garantías lo suficientemente efectivas para disuadir a los traficantes de datos que todos los días manipulany comercializan con ellos. No obstante, se han realizado los primeros intentos para transitar hacia un régimen más transparente, en el que el derecho de acceso a la informaciónpública sea un peldaño para fortalecer el tan debilitado Estado democrático de derecho.

Developments in the intensification of photo-Fenton and ozonation-based processes for the removal of contaminants of emerging concern in Ibero-American countries

Contaminants of emerging concern (CECs), such as pharmaceuticals, personal care products, pesticides, synthetic and natural hormones and industrial chemicals, are frequently released into the environment because of the inability of conventional processes in municipal wastewater treatment plants to remove them. Some examples of alternative options to remove such pollutants are photo-Fenton and ozone-based processes, which are two techniques widely studied in Ibero-American countries. In fact, this region has been responsible for delivering frequently publications and conferences on advanced oxidation processes. This work is a critical review of recent developments in the intensification of the two aforementioned advanced oxidation techniques for CECs elimination in the Ibero-American region. Specifically for the photo-Fenton process (pF), this study analyses strategies such as iron-complexation with artificial substances (e.g., oxalic acid and ethylenediamine-N,N′-disuccinic acid) and natural compounds (such as humic-like substances, orange juice or polyphenols) and hybrid processes with ultrasound. Meanwhile, for ozonation, the enhancement of CECs degradation by adding hydrogen peroxide (i.e., peroxone), ultraviolet or solar light, and combining (i.e., photolytic ozonation) with catalysts (i.e., catalytic ozonation) was reviewed. Special attention was paid to how efficient these techniques are for removing contaminants from water matrices, and any potentialities and weak points of the intensified processes.

Digitalización del periodismo iberoamericano y su efecto en la relación del periodista con la audiencia. Estudio comparativo de Argentina, Brasil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, España, México y Portugal

ABSTRACT The future of journalism in the Ibero-American region depends on the capacity of media and journalists to adapt to the accelerated technologization and digitalization that is changing media structures, information processes and the nature of journalism itself. This process of digitalization of journalism in Ibero-America is analyzed in this article using the open data derived from the results of the second wave of the Worlds of Journalism Study (WJS), conducted between 2012 and 2016 with 3,586 journalists from nine countries of this region (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Spain, Mexico and Portugal). The correlation between the importance of technical capacities and tools such as social media and online search engines in the journalistic work and the influence of the audience in this work was confirmed. Regarding digitalization of the journalistic profession in general, not many differences were observed between Ibero-American sub-regions, neither geographical nor linguistic, although they were observed between countries.

The bibliometric studies in the field of Ibero-American psychology

La bibliometría consiste en el tratamiento matemático y estadístico de la información científica y, por ello, se la concibe como la cuantificación de la información bibliográfica susceptible de ser analizada. Más allá de que algunos autores la conciban como una metodología y otros como una técnica, la bibliometría facilita la organización, selección y categorización de la información para un tratamiento cuantitativo y cualitativo. Desde hace más de tres décadas, los estudios bibliométricos han comenzado a proliferar con diferentes usos, orientaciones y aplicaciones en el campo de la psicología iberoamericana. En este trabajo se analizan los estudios bibliométricos en el campo de la psicología iberoamericana recuperados de tres bases de datos: Dialnet (España), Redalyc (México) y SciELO (Brasil). A partir de una muestra de 81 trabajos seleccionados, se realizó una categorización según las diferentes líneas de investigación, los autores más frecuentes, los países de los autores, el rango de años de las publicaciones, el idioma de las publicaciones, el género en la redacción de los trabajos, las revistas que más estudios bibliométricos publicaron y las más analizadas desde la perspectiva bibliométrica. También se analizó el contexto histórico de aparición de los estudios bibliométricos en el campo de la psicología de Iberoamérica. Se concluye que los estudios bibliométricos son un importante recurso metodológico para la evaluación de la disciplina y profesión psicológica, siempre que logren ir más allá de la mera descripción de datos cuantitativos y puedan complementarse con análisis cualitativos, lo que brindaría mayor potencialidad interpretativa y explicativa.

Propuesta teórica de taxonomía de universidades iberoamericanas a partir de la forma de nombramiento de los rectores

The university is faced with tensions and demands resulting from the transformations that society demands. The new public management (NGP) imposes new paradigms as far as university administration is concerned. Concomitantly, the international rankings of universities establish standards and classifications, placing the focus on access to information that should be available to interest groups. This work has been proposed as a central purpose, to describe the ways of appointing the rectors in Latin American universities, with the purpose of elaborating in theoretical terms a taxonomy that allows to differentiate and classify the universities of the region, opening the discussion on what is the most appropriate mechanism to provide the position of the highest university authority. The information used for this study was obtained from a primary source: the database of universities in Latin America; which consists of the Laws, decrees, statutes, regulations of election of authorities among others that regulate 1080 institutions of the Ibero-American region. This information establishes a taxonomy of four types that attempt to simplify and demonstrate the different forms of organization of the institutions. These allow to describe the degree of participation of the interest groups in the process of appointing the rector. The proposed taxonomy confirms the existence of dissimilar mechanisms for appointing the rector and that these are dependent on the type of ownership of the institution.

ТЕХНОПОЛИТИКА В СТРАНАХ ИБЕРОАМЕРИКАНСКОГО РЕГИОНА

In recent decades, the active interaction of innovative technologies and politics has given a rise to a new specific phenomenon –technopolitics. It is acquiring clearer outlines and seeks to obtain the status of a separate applied discipline. Technopolitics includes the whole range of tools used by politicians, political organizations and political strategists within the Internet space in order to collect information about the potential electorate, form a strategy and influence the mood of voters. The main elements of technopolitics are social networks, mobile applications and specialized sites. They become an ideal platform for understanding the mood in society, forming a roadmap on key issues, which allows solving both internal and foreign policy tasks. The authors of this research set the aim to analyze examples of technopolitics functioning in the countries of the Ibero-American region, which includes countries with an impressive number of Internet users and one of the highest levels of political participation. As a result of the research, the authors come to the conclusion that Spain and the countries of Latin America are actively involved in technopolitics, which is proved by the activities of local political organizations that develop their activity in the framework of Internet communications. The creation of social media accounts and own websites is aimed at an active interaction with citizens without the participation of traditional media as an intermediary. Operative response to changes in shades of public opinion allows political parties to timely change the vector of their movement. Citizens’ general engagement in technopolitics led to truly revolutionary changes in the hierarchy of the “candidatevoter”, endowing the voter with truly democratic instruments of influencing the government, and thereby increasing the percentage of political participation of citizens disenchanted with the former relations between the institution of power and the people. The Internet has allowed an ordinary person to turn into a real political actor organizing transparent discussions, easily involving a large number of people in solving political issues. People are no longer required to vote within the framework of the proposed alternative, but asked for their opinion. Much of this change is due to the creation of Twitter, a platform opened to discussion of various issues and free from censorship, very popular in the countries of the Ibero-American region.

BIODIVERSITY IN IBERO AMERICAN COUNTRIES: OVERVIEW ABOUT THE NATURAL AND SOCIAL

Authors such as Brown (2009) and Sachs (2010) have been discussing the importance of biodiversity and the need to build a harmonious relationship between social capital, natural and economic. Thus, the aim of this study is to make an analysis of the Ibero-American region (AIBER), in which concentrate the greatest biodiversity on the planet. The 21 countries of the Ibero-American region were grouped using an analysis of variables with high explanatory power by principal component analysis. We conclude that there is an imbalance between the variables, noting a preponderance of the capital to the detriment of natural capital.

Revising the limits of the coastal area in the regulations of the iberoamerican region. Are they appropriate for risk management and adaptation to climate change?

Coastal laws define the boundaries of the coastal zone. Both a terrestrial part and a marine part are usually included, which can be anything from ten to two hundred or more meters. They are usually declared public domain zones, and a protection zone, parallel to the coastal edge, is often determined. The function of the protection zone is to reduce pressures of anthropogenic origin on coastal ecosystems, its services and, simultaneously, mitigate extreme natural phenomena within the inhabited areas of the coast. Protection zones are established according to different types of criteria. In this study, they have been classified into two main groups: scientific/universal criteria and functional/operational criteria.Integrated coastal zone management addresses complex problems for the organization of economic uses and activities, based on the protection of ecosystems, while addressing coastal risks. At present, erosion is one of the most serious issues affecting the coast, a problem that is likely to intensify as a result of sea level rise, which is an effect of climate change. The objective of this paper is to analyze regulations affecting the coast in the Ibero-American Region, paying special attention to the definition of the geographical area. Results of this study are: most laws, especially in the terrestrial area, use arbitrary criteria and metric distances. In the marine environment, the limit of the coastal zone is usually fixed up to 12 nautical miles from the Territorial Sea. On few occasions, natural-physical criteria are used, which take into account the characteristics of the coast and anthropic criteria, such as the socio-economic reality. This means that limits have been established that are politically functional, as well as practices that do not take into account the vulnerability of the area, the functioning of coastal ecosystems or protection against natural risks. We are in no doubt that, faced with the challenge of establishing adaptation measures for the effects of climate change, the search for a new delimitation of the coastal zone should be considered an urgent matter.

Stroke Care and Application of Thrombolysis in Ibero-America: Report From the SITS-SIECV Ibero-American Stroke Register

Standardized registries may provide valuable data to further improve stroke care. Our aim was to obtain updated information about characteristics of stroke patients and management of stroke across the Ibero-American countries, using a common in-hospital registry (Safe Implementation of Treatments in Stroke–Sociedad Iberoamericana de Enfermedades Cerebrovasculares) as a basis for further quality improvement. Data for this study were entered into the Safe Implementation of Treatments in Stroke registry from September 2009 to December 2013 by 58 centers in 14 countries. Data included demographics, risk factors, onset-to-door time, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score, stroke subtype, ischemic stroke etiology, treatments, 3-month mortality, and modified Rankin Scale score. Time to treatment was also recorded for patients treated with thrombolysis. Five thousand four hundred one patients were registered; median age, 65 years; 46% women; 3915 (72.5%) ischemic strokes; 686 (13.7%) hemorrhagic strokes; 213 (4.3%) subarachnoid hemorrhages; 414 (8.3%) transient ischemic attacks; and 31 (0.6%) cerebral vein thrombosis. The most prevalent risk factors were hypertension (71.3%), dyslipidemia (35.2%), and diabetes mellitus (23.6%). Atrial fibrillation was present in 15.1%. Three hundred one ischemic strokes were treated with intravenous thrombolysis (IVT; 7.7%). Patients undergoing IVT were more severely affected (median baseline National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score, 11 versus 6). The rate of symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhages after IVT was 5.7%. At 3 months, 60.3% of IVT-treated patients and 59.1% of untreated patients were independent (modified Rankin Scale score, 0–2). Mortality was 11.4% in treated and 12.8% in untreated patients. Safe Implementation of Treatments in Stroke–Sociedad Iberoamericana de Enfermedades Cerebrovasculares is the largest registry of a general stroke population and the first study to evaluate the level of IVT use in Ibero-America. It provides valuable information that may help to improve the quality of stroke care in the Ibero-American region.