HR4RS stamp
Raul Garcia Hemonnet
As every time an extended vacation period arrives, the URJC recommends some of the books written by members of its university community, whether they are teachers, scientific staff, students or PTGAS.
Understanding the relationships of power and communication in the digital age
The professor of Political Communication and Public Opinion, Víctor Sampedro, published a few months ago 'Theories of Communication and Power. Public Opinion and Pseudocracy, whose pages offer both an abbreviated course in digital communication (and citizenship) and a manual of strategies for intervening in the public sphere.
The work proposes to discover the maps of power in the age of digital information and analyzes the influence that can be obtained by creating a public narrative, controlling agendas and communicative frameworks, therefore, as can be read on the publisher's website ( AKAL), “these contents do not only concern future graduates in Communication. They are also a subject of study in (post)graduate degrees in Sociology, Political Science, Anthropology, Work-Social Education or Teaching. Like communication, these pages cross different disciplines and go beyond academic borders.”
Emancipation through a pioneer
The professor of Moral, Political and Social Philosophy, Delia Manzanero, publishes an analysis on the reflections of the thinker, journalist, poet and feminist pioneer Concepción Arenal on life in confinement. Through this book she calls for reflection on all types of prisons, external and internal, public and intimate. The work 'Concepción Arenal: Keys to the emancipation of imprisoned women', has been published in Technos.
A new vision of the medieval and Renaissance prince
The work 'The image of the prince between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance: new approaches' (ed. Silex) is coordinated by the Medieval History area professor, Vera Cruz Miranda Menacho, member of the consolidated research group ITEM (Identity and Territory in the Middle Ages). The book has the participation of several teachers from the Medieval and Modern History area of the URJC, as well as professors from other universities. The volume seeks to approach the study of the figure of the prince from the Middle Ages to the Modern Age from various perspectives, from cultural and institutional studies in the XNUMXth century and in the Modern Age.
“The topic of the study of the prince constitutes one of the most elaborate intellectual controversies since the appearance of Machiavelli's work. Medievalists, modernists, and specialists in political theory have wanted to see in the work of the Tuscan the bases on which to study power from the Middle Ages to the present day. This book wants nothing more than to offer visions of this problem through various points of view,” they point out from the Faculty of Arts and Humanities.
Communicate successfully
The Communication and Journalism professors Ángeles Moreno, Cristina Fuentes-Lara and Noelia Zurro-Antón participate in the collective work ‘Excellence in Communication: How to develop, direct and lead exceptional communications (European Communication Monitor)’, published by Editorial UOC.
In this work, as can be read on the publisher's website, data is collected from 40.000 communication professionals, completed with case studies and interviews with senior communication directors from renowned companies and organizations. The book is based on the European Communication Monitor, known as the most extensive and solid study on the communication sector in the world. Here we teach how to build, develop and lead excellent communications, taking into account the impact on reputation and the effect of organizational culture, crisis management or mediatization through new digital media. It also provides clear indications, based on the identification of excellent communication departments, and shows readers how communication can effectively influence and support organizations, linking business strategy in today's global and fluctuating markets. .
Data analysis and ecology
This selection closes with a much more technical book than those reviewed previously: ‘Ecological data analysis in R’ (Mundiprensa) by professors Luis Cayuela (Ecology) and Marcelino de la Cruz (Botany).
The work is built “on multiple examples and case studies, so that the reader can understand the concepts through practice. It starts from very basic concepts, both R programming and statistics, to advance through some of the data analysis techniques most frequently used in the field of ecology, including linear models, generalized linear models, generalized additive models, regression and classification trees and mixed models,” according to the editorial.
The book is aimed at students, teachers and researchers in the field of natural sciences who want to enter the world of data analysis.
A series of multidisciplinary recommendations that will provide new knowledge during these holidays.