Open access final projects on today's pressing topics
Subject: Multidisciplinary
In the UOC's O2 Repository you can read final projects written by students which examine the impact of COVID-19 from the viewpoint of their own areas of study.
The COVID-19 crisis has disrupted our daily routines and boosted the use of new technologies in fields such as work, administration and education.
From different academic points of view, some students have devoted their final projects to identifying and analysing the exceptional situation brought about by the pandemic, applying the knowledge they acquired during their courses. We list below some examples you can read as open access documents in the UOC's O2 Repository.
Nahime Bertha Moreira Abraham
University Master's Degree in Corporate Communication, Protocol and Events
The study analyses the role of events as spaces for social interaction and presents a communication plan for adapting an event to the healthcare standards of the "new normal". The author explains that she decided to make COVID-19 the focus of her work during the lockdown: "Online events during the lockdown helped my family and myself to continue to feel part of a whole [...]; I became aware of the importance of our sector." Through her work, Nahime Bertha Moreira Abraham has learned, among other things, to value "the social impact of an event and not just the economic consequences". She has also learned a valuable lesson on a personal level: "It was hard working in the new personal circumstances I had to endure, but I proved to myself that, when you like what you're doing, you can concentrate, work hard and push on with the project."
Sara Brotons Vidal
University Master's Degree in Social Media: Management and Strategy
The author, Sara Brotons, has carried out an analysis of the fake news about coronavirus that circulated on Facebook and Twitter during the first two weeks of the lockdown. She identified and classified false rumours by theme, using two Spanish news verification sites (Maldita.es and Newtral). The study concludes that the lies are related above all to political questions and measures by official bodies. The author concludes that "we need to promote a cooperative space to bring fact checking, social media, traditional media, universities and libraries together" and "the public needs to be taught to distinguish between true and false information, what we call 'media literacy'".
Rubén Grau Navarro
University Master's Degree in Electronic Administration and Governance
This study analyses the consequences of the declaration of a state of emergency for public authorities and the way in which they adapted to the new situation through the development of electronic tools. The author focuses on the case of Alcúdia Town Council. The healthcare crisis has revealed "the real state of e-administration in our public authorities," the author explained. For Ruben Grau, the lockdown "was the push they needed to move definitively towards more modern administrative processes". As a result of his final master's degree project, he has looked critically at the current use of information and communication technologies in administrative procedures involving the public and businesses.
Joan Ramon i Prats
Postgraduate course in Socio-Occupational Intervention: Guidance for Employment and Workplace Insertion
This project focuses on the concept of working from home. It briefly reviews the situation prior to the pandemic and looks at the current situation, taking into account the legal context. It also contains a survey of 173 respondents, chosen to enable the author to identify a range of worker profiles to determine whether personal circumstances (type of home, children, etc.) influence how they feel about teleworking. Based on the responses received, the student concluded that over 80% of workers feel adequately trained to work from home and that most think they work longer hours at home than they did in the workplace. He also noted that the respondents would prefer to alternate teleworking with on-site work.
Sara Gutiérrez Gata
University Master's Degree in Translation and Technologies
This is a linguistic study comparing the use of English and Spanish in financial journalism. The author compares the conceptual metaphors used in financial news items in the Spanish and British press to report on the economic crisis caused by COVID-19. Sara Gutiérrez said: "An analysis of the metaphorical expressions used in the financial press allowed us to examine how the crisis is conceptualized for reporting to the public, and whether this conceptualization varies according to the culture in which it is produced." This analysis, once completed, highlighted "the homogenizing effects of globalization on the economy and on language, and thus on the thinking of different cultures with varying traditions and customs".
Vanessa Martínez Salas
University Master's Degree in Medical Social Work
As a social worker in primary healthcare, Vanessa Martínez saw at first hand the isolation experienced by some elderly people and how it affects their situation. She had the idea for the project during lockdown: "I spent the last three months of my pregnancy in lockdown. This got me thinking a great deal about how elderly people who live alone and feel lonely were coping." The project contains interviews with a number of social workers, asking about the main factors and causes of loneliness, how to detect it, and the role of these professionals. The aim of the project is to demonstrate that social workers based in primary healthcare centres play a key role in identifying elderly people who live alone and may feel isolated.
In the UOC's O2 Repository you will find work by other students in open access. You can use these as a reference for your own final project.