The essential
I work in information management, a dynamic job that keeps me constantly observing, learning and teaching. This allows me to lecture at the University of Barcelona, where I teach Library and Information Science and where I'm involved in a series of research projects.
I'm the author of various papers on digital information handling and related topics. Helped by special technological aids, I'm interested in user experience and in personal information management.
Among the numerous hobbies I enjoy, worth mentioning is my devotion for trekking, photography and travelling. And I have a passion for music: I'm an occasional composer, arranger and performer of contemporary music.
In the pipeline
New composition in the works
I've embarked on an attractive art project: I'm writing music for a contemporary choreography. Composing music to serve the purposes of a ballet is a challenge I always wanted to take on, and a golden chance has come up. The project also involves a dancer and choreographer, two visual artists, a multimedia artist and a location scouting expert. The show will hopefully be premiered in the Netherlands over the next year.
Noteworthy
Towards the seventh art
A surprising version of my Piano Sonata, as arranged by the multimedia artist ferrie=differentieel, is now the soundtrack for Summer Cut. Released the 5th October 2011 by the film company Troi Films, this short film shows an amusing counterpoint between the before and after of a haircut. The before is Dutch; the after is pure Hispanic, pure sun, it's an evening by the sea.
Recent papers
Articles
Jorge Franganillo. «Los desafíos de la información cuántica». ThinkEPI, 4 December 2012. 
Resumen. Quantum physics, the science of the infinitely small, is so surprising and mysterious that it sounds like science fiction since it certainly defies common sense and forces us to radically change the way we perceive reality. The results of its experiments are irrefutable and they revolutionize even the world of information. Now scientists are studying how to use fundamental laws of quantum physics to improve information transmission and processing, which promises exciting new technologies in the future. Yet, it is not without its difficulties and limitations nor it suggests that
quantum computers might somehow replace conventional electric computers.
Jorge Franganillo. «El aparente declive del correo electrónico». Anuario ThinkEPI: análisis de tendencias en información y documentación, 2012, p. 250-253. 
Abstract. Some companies have started to restrict the use of email with the conviction that the resulting information overload undermines productivity. However, the problem is not the tool, but excessive exchange of messages, often with irrelevant information. Therefore, the real solution is to establish appropriate management strategies and avoid excessive communication. Some initiatives are committed to moving corporate internal communication to social media, although it tends to fragment the information required to complete tasks.
Jorge Franganillo. «HTML5: el nuevo estándar básico de la web». Anuario ThinkEPI: análisis de tendencias en información y documentación, 2011, p. 261-265.
Abstract. In late 2009, the W3C stopped developing XHTML 2 and focused on HTML5 instead. Since then, there has been some confusion and heated debates about the proper markup language for future web development. HTML5 has been conceived with the aim of simplifying the designers' work and improving the sites' performance, especially on mobile devices. This paper analyzes the final draft of the HTML5 specification and discusses the most significant aspects: syntax, DOM, information gathering and presentation, and multimedia processing.
Jorge Franganillo. «Implicaciones éticas de la minería de datos». Anuario ThinkEPI: análisis de tendencias en información y documentación, 2010, p. 320-324.
Abstract. Data mining is the process of analyzing large data sets to find previously undiscovered patterns and predict future actions. Data mining has many useful applications, but also has a merely exploratory approach that makes questionable the validity of certain deductions. Using personal information for predictive purposes has a direct impact on the lives of people and therefore requires acting in a framework of liability. A code of ethics is necessary.
Conference papers
Sílvia Argudo, Andreu Sulé, Jorge Franganillo, Teresa Mañà, Anna Rubió. «Introducción de la semipresencialidad en el grado de Información y Documentación: evolucionando con la sociedad». Congrés Internacional de Docència Universitària i Innovació (2012: Barcelona). Paper.
Abstract. From the 2011-2012 academic year, blended learning is being introduced in the Information and Documentation Degree of the University of Barcelona's Faculty of Library and Information Science. All first-year subjects are offered in this format for a group of 30 students. The planning has involved establishing the conditions and degree of the blending, creating teaching materials on a virtual campus, and setting up indicators and mechanisms for monitoring and evaluation. First results suggest relevant differences with respect to the on-site model.
Mireia Ribera, Bruno Splendiani, Miquel Térmens, Marina Salse, Irene Llerena, Jorge Franganillo, Miquel Centelles. «Accessible teaching documents». Congreso Europeo de Tecnologías de la Información en la Educación y en la Sociedad: una visión crítica. (3rd: February 2012: Barcelona). Paper. Barcelona: Esbrina, 2012, p. 504-506.
Resumen. «Accessible teaching documents» is a second step on an initiative to promote best practices in the preparation of accessible teaching material by university professors. This initiative started with the publication of the Guide to accessible digital content, which explains basic techniques to make accessible office documents. «Accessible teaching documents» goes further on this initial objective, providing templates for the creation of office documents, and easy procedures to create alternate versions of them. Those alternate versions will include changes in color, fonts or other presentational attributes and also conversions to different digital formats, thus promoting inclusive education in the university by the integration of alternative formats in everyday contents.
Afra Pascual, Mireia Ribera, Miquel Térmens, Llúcia Masip, Toni Granollers, José Luis González, Marina Salse, Jorge Franganillo, Bruno Splendiani. «The Guide to accessible digital content: resources and skills to create digital and accessible educational contents». Universal Learning Design International Conference (February 2011: Brno). Paper. 
Abstract. This paper presents a joint initiative of the University of Lleida and the University of Barcelona (Spain) encouraging inclusive education in the university by the promotion of alternative formats. The initiative was formalized in a set of 13 guides published in the Guide to accessible digital content (in Catalan and Spanish) that presents detailed information to create digital documents accessible to people with disabilities. The guides cover common content editing tools (Microsoft Word, OpenOffice Writer or Microsoft PowerPoint), the conversion to PDF and the publication of accessible web content via the FCKEditor available on LMS such as Sakai, Moodle or OpenCMS. The initiative also includes the creation of supporting material like accessible templates for common document types in teaching. The main audience of the guides is university professors who must meet accessibility standards in their e-learning environments. However, the guidelines may also be useful to anyone who has the obligation or the desire to have their digital documents and publications on the Internet made according to the principles of universal design.
Lluís Agustí, Sílvia Argudo, Jorge Franganillo, Candela Ollé, Amadeu Pons, Josep Manuel Rodríguez Gairín, Pedro Rueda, Marta Somoza, Cristóbal Urbano, Nora Vela. «Alehoop: una eina per descobrir fonts primàries al batxillerat». Jornades Educació i Arxius (3rd: October 2010: Barcelona). Gemma Tribó (coord.). Fonts primàries en l'educació digital. Barcelona: Universitat de Barcelona. Institut de Ciències de l'Educació, 2011, p. 83-98. Paper.
Opinion
Jorge Franganillo. «GPS, o la lección del Dakar». Uno, 2 January 2012, p. 18.
Abstract. Dakar is a competition that stands out from other motor events because of its countless peculiarities. An example of this is that drivers are not allowed to use GPS to find their way. Instead, they must follow the directions written on a paper roll. GPS, which is useful in innumerable areas, is held by the U.S. government, which can disrupt or modify the signals if they want to, as it has done on occasion. One day it might happen that our dependence on this positioning system, whose absence in the Dakar makes this adventure even more adventurous, causes a massive disorientation.
Jorge Bello, Jorge Franganillo. «La bona ciència i la bona escriptura». Pediatria Catalana, vol. 71, no. 4, 2011, p. 174-175.
Jorge Franganillo. «En la ciencia de lo secreto». Uno, 7 December 2011, p. 17.
Abstract. Cryptography has had a significant historical influence for over two millennia. It's an ancient science which was already used by Romans, among others, to keep their communications safe from enemies. For centuries, until the 1970s, it was a black art practised by only a few governments and armies. It is now a well-established discipline that is taught in universities, it's available for use by businesses and individuals, and it protects many areas of everyday life. This ancient technique now faces the threat of quantum computing, which might cause the collapse of the cryptographic techniques known to date.
Jorge Franganillo. «El correo electrónico está de aniversario: cumple 40 años». Uno, 20 January 2011, p. 16-17.
Reviews
Jorge Franganillo. «La filosofia de la conversa i l'economia del segle XXI». Item: revista de biblioteconomia i documentació, no. 52, January-June 2010, p. 149-150.
All papers
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News
The grand day of our wedding came at last
April 2013
Ever since Seda and I met, we realized that we were really meant to each other. Life surprised us and gave us the best thing ever happened to us: the powerful desire to be together, to start a common project, a common life! And on 23 April, Saint George's Day, which is my day, our day, we got married in her native Turkey. We gave each other the evet, in Turkish, the yes word that unites us forever, and then that day had a new reason to be a day of roses. Now we will spend a short honeymoon in Amasra, a small seaside village on the Black Sea. And then we will live in Barcelona.
Visiting TV3 documentation centre
April 2013
Each television manages its audiovisual material really differently. This work varies according to the objectives of the TV company, the resources available and the needs of its users. However, it's the task to which documentation centres assign more resources, both human and material, because the economic value and heritage of audiovisual documentation is enormous. To confirm this in first person, my students from Audiovisual Documentation Management have visited Televisió de Catalunya (TV3) documentation centre.
 TV3 control room — © Pep Ribas Music for a videoart piece
March 2013
«This beauty has a thin skin. Scratch the land and imagine, if you can, what lies buried beneath today.»
The Unimaginable, an awesome video art piece directed by ferrie=differentieel for which I've had the chance to compose the soundtrack, has made its worldwide premiere. Deeply sunk in snow and frozen surfaces, beneath a wintry, idyllic, apparently untouched landscape, there is the terrible effect of a war that was thought never to come again. In the production of this short film, framed within the project 100x100=900: 100 videoartists to tell a century, Jimmy ThePeach and Jöran Maaswinkel (filming and editing) have also participated.
Short film selected for:
The soundtrack can be heard separately.
Exit directory, revamped
February 2013
We, the creators of Exit, a directory of experts in information management, have enhanced its interface and performance. This tool now includes more search options and provides links to each expert's academic and social profiles, and it also suggests profiles of similarly skilled experts. Check it out!
Visiting Ankara
January 2013
A curious chain of circumstances has led me to visit the Turkish capital, a bursting metropolis that has assumed a modern air of sophistication. Apart from rediscovering its countless culinary delights, I've been lucky enough to discover, in perfect company, the majestic Ilgaz Mountains covered in winter snows.
 Dikmen Vadisi The grand challenges of quantum information
December 2012
Quantum physics, the science of the infinitely small, is so surprising and mysterious that it sounds like science fiction. It certainly defies common sense and forces us to radically change the way we perceive reality. The results of its experiments are irrefutable and they revolutionize even the world of information. Now scientists are studying how to use fundamental laws of quantum physics to improve information transmission and processing, which promises exciting new technologies in the future. Yet, it is not without its difficulties and limitations. On this peculiar scenario I've written a short article now published in ThinkEPI.
 Ion trap, part of a quantum computer — © D-Wave Systems DoS of Media and Communications
October 2012
This year I'll be teaching less to take over the new role I've been entrusted: I've become director of studies of the degree in Media and Communications. I'm taking on this task with surprise and also with the illusion of having the chance to help develop an innovative academic project.
French weekend
September 2012
The chance to spend three days in the Côte Vermeille has allowed me to confirm how necessary it is to be in touch with pure nature to clarify and project ideas to the future that is already here. Now I'm back with renewed vigor, with batteries charged.
 Port-Vendres, a typical Mediterranean fishing port Fresh holidays in England
August 2012
Now that the dog days of Summer have arrived, I've gone to the Lake District to refresh and practice my English. I've spent the fresh English days immersed in the fresh waters of culture, in the British everyday life, in informal chats with occasional Summer friends. Those days have been also devoted to hiking and photography, two hobbies of mine that know no boundaries or languages.
 Windermere, the largest natural lake in England Four eyes see more than two
March 2012
Every year we celebrate the Copyeditor's Day to commemorate the birth of a famous copyeditor: Erasmus of Rotterdam (1466-1536). And also to present a noble profession dedicated to polish the syntactic and grammatical aspects that affect the style and the formal quality of a text. It's a task that goes unnoticed except when it isn't done. On this anonymous but necessary job, I've co-authored with Jorge Bello an informative article for Pediatria Catalana that tries to explain the importance of copyediting in scholarly literature.
A tour through the ETB documentation centre
February 2012
On the occasion of an activity organized by ALDEE and the documentalists Jesús Anderez and Mabel Giménez, I've had the chance to visit the documentation department of Euskal Telebista (ETB). This tour has allowed me to learn how particularly this television network manages its audiovisual material. When it comes to management, every television network behaves differently and makes its own decisions on how to preserve, organize and disseminate its contents, so getting to know the specific task of the Basque television has been really illustrative.
 ETB's documentation centre, next to the editorial office |
