Search results

This paper aims to answer the question of how the Polish representatives of social communication and media sciences communicate the most recent scientific findings in the media space, i.e. what types of publications are shared, what activities do they exemplify (sharing information about their own publications, leading discussions, formulating opinions), what is the form of the scientific communication created by them (publication of reference lists' descriptions, full papers, preprints and post prints) and what is the audience reception (number of downloads, displays, comments).

The authors present the results of analysis conducted on the presence of the most recent (2017–2019) publications by the Polish representatives of the widely understood social communication and media sciences in three selected social networking services for scientists: ResearchGate, Google Scholar and Academia.edu. The analyses covered 100 selected representatives of the scientific environment (selected in interval sampling), assigned, according to the OECD classification “Field of Science”, in the “Ludzie nauki” (Men of Science) database to the “media and communication” discipline.

The conducted analyses prove a low usage level of the potential of three analysed services for scientists by the Polish representatives of social communication and media sciences. Although 60% of them feature profiles in at least one of the services, the rest are not present there at all. From the total of 113 identified scientists' profiles, as little as 65 feature publications from 2017 to 2019. Small number of alternative metrics established in them, implies, in turn, that if these metrics were to play an important role in evaluation of the value and influence of scientific publications, then this evaluation for the researched Polish representatives of social communication and media sciences would be unfavourable.

The small presence of the Polish representatives of the communication and media sciences in three analysed services shows that these services may be – for the time being – only support the processes of managing own scientific output. Maybe this quite a pessimistic image of scientists' activities in the analysed services is conditioned by a simple lack of the need to be present in electronic channels of scientific communication or the lack of trust to the analysed services, which, in turn, should be linked to their shortcomings and flaws. However, unequivocal confirmation of these hypotheses might be brought by explorations covering a larger group of scientists, and complemented with survey studies. Thus, this research may constitute merely a starting point for further explorations, including elaboration of good practices with respect to usage of social media by scientists.

This research aims to analyze to what extent sustainability and its related core aspects are integrated in media and communication's curricula of higher education institutions in Europe.

A total of n = 1068 bachelor and master’s degree programs, as well as their related curricula/program specifications, from 28 European countries were analyzed by means of content analysis.

Results show that the level of curricular integration of sustainability aspects in the field of media and communication is low (14%) to very low (6%) on module level. In most cases, sustainability remains an abstract guiding principle that is not translated into a dedicated course offer. This can indicate the difficulty of operationalizing such a concept as sustainability, which is experienced by not only higher education institutions but also policy and society as a whole. In addition, the results leave space for a reflection on the social and educational responsibility of higher education institutions.

The authors are aware that not all teaching (content) is depicted in curricula. Especially where teaching is research-based, The authors assume that sustainability (communication) is more present as the curricula' analysis can represent it. In addition, the fact of solely investigating English language curricula can be seen as a further limitation.

This research is one of the few attempts to verify the actual integration level of sustainability aspects in the curricula of a specific sustainability-relevant discipline, which is neither conducted as a case study nor as a single-country analysis.

The current study seeks to investigate, why and how faculty members of Indian central universities are using academic social networking sites (ASNs) for research communication and information dissemination, as well as validate and update the results of previous scholarship in this area. To achieve this, the paper uses structural equation model (SEM).

A simple random sampling method was adopted. Online survey was conducted using a well-designed questionnaire circulated via email id among 3384 faculty members of Indian Central Universities. A SEM was designed and tested with International Business Machines (IBM) Amos. Apart from this, Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) 22 and Microsoft Excel 2010 were also used for data screening and analysis.

The study explores that most of the respondents are in favour of using the ASNs/tools for their professional activities. The study also found that a large chunk of the respondents used ASNs tools during day time. Apart from it, more number of faculty members used ASNs in research work than general purpose. No significant differences were found among the disciplines in use behaviour of ASNs in scholarly communication. Three hypotheses have been accepted while two were rejected in this study.

The study was confined to the twelve central universities, and only 312 valid responses were taken into consideration in this study.

The paper demonstrates the faculty members’ use behaviour of ASNs in their research communication. The study also contributes new knowledge to methodological discussions as it is the first known study to employ SEM to interpret scholarly use of ASNs by faculty members of Indian central universities.

This study aims to answer an important question of how brand-related communications, including advertising and sales promotion contents, which are disseminated on social media platforms, can enhance positive brand image and evoke favourable behavioural intention from consumers.

This study surveys 615 consumers of automotive brands across Malaysia. The data were analysed with AMOS, which was used to specify both the measurement and structural models. The mediating effect of both hedonic and functional brand images was tested using the bootstrapping approach in AMOS and Sobel test.

The findings reported in this research demonstrate that there are positive and significant relationships between social media advertising content, social media sales promotion content, hedonic brand image, functional brand image and behavioural intention. Both hedonic and functional brand images have significant mediating effects on social media advertising content, social media sales promotion content and behavioural intention. However, the relationship between social media advertising content and behavioural intention is insignificant.

This paper proffers insights to brand managers and marketers on how to leverage on social media contents by unearthing the roles of traditional marketing communications such as social media advertising and promotional information in enhancing brand preference and improving consumers’ purchase intention.

This research advances the discussions in the realm of social media communications and branding by examining the mediating effects of both hedonic and functional brand images of automotive brands. In addition, this study focuses on two essential marketing communications, advertising and sales promotions, which are commonly disseminated by brand managers on social media platforms.

Rising public scrutiny has? brought new demands for science communication. Especially, incidents of falsification, fabrication, and plagiarism have recently come to question academic integrity and legitimacy in Germany. Focussing on a prominent plagiarism case that revolved around the former Minister of Science and Education’s dissertation, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the communication strategies of the Düsseldorf University as it navigated the complex challenges of the crisis situation.

The analysis is based on a rhetorical analysis of the public discourse of the University Düsseldorf in the context of the plagiarism crisis.

The study finds that the university responded to the crisis by focussing on legitimating the legal and administrative process by which it evaluated Schavan’s dissertation and revoked the degree. In turn, this focus neglected restoring the threatened reputation of graduate education and of scholarship itself. Ultimately, the crisis communication of the university worked to undermine the premises and goals of science communication.

Future research should focus on case studies of crisis communication by academic and research organizations as well as on investigating the effects of crisis rhetoric on public trust in and on understanding of academic research. The study suggests that it is worthwhile for crisis and science communication scholars to work to develop distinct frameworks for science communication in crisis and crisis communication in science that account for the unique tensions and duality of needs in this arena.

The study contributes to the understanding of the intersections between crisis communication and science communication. Especially, it underlines the importance of developing distinct frameworks for science communication in crisis and crisis communication in science that account for the unique tensions and duality of needs in this arena.

The purpose of this study is to offer a roadmap for work on the ethical and societal implications of algorithms and AI. Based on an analysis of the social, technical and regulatory challenges posed by algorithmic systems in Korea, this work conducts socioecological evaluations of the governance of algorithmic transparency and accountability.

This paper analyzes algorithm design and development from critical socioecological angles: social, technological, cultural and industrial phenomena that represent the strategic interaction among people, technology and society, touching on sensitive issues of a legal, a cultural and an ethical nature.

Algorithm technologies are a part of a social ecosystem, and its development should be based on user interests and rights within a social and cultural milieu. An algorithm represents an interrelated, multilayered ecosystem of networks, protocols, applications, services, practices and users.

Value-sensitive algorithm design is proposed as a novel approach for designing algorithms. As algorithms have become a constitutive technology that shapes human life, it is essential to be aware of the value-ladenness of algorithm development. Human values and social issues can be reflected in an algorithm design.

The arguments in this study help ensure the legitimacy and effectiveness of algorithms. This study provides insight into the challenges and opportunities of algorithms through the lens of a socioecological analysis: political discourse, social dynamics and technological choices inherent in the development of algorithm-based ecology.

The purpose of this paper is to pose questions about quality indicators, describe the fields of reference of communicators and the instruments currently being used in quality assurance of journalism, especially in Germany.

Due to their relevance to the questions being posed in media ethics, the paper deals with the meaning‐conferring functions of media offerings and with reasonable expectations toward media courses that prepare young communicators for their field of occupation.

This paper reveals that a more in‐depth involvement with constructivist epistemologies can impart to the media students a particular understanding of the dimensions of ethics, norms, law and the associated sets of rules.

This paper is focusing on the latently present, meaning‐generating aspects of the media, just not discussing them in terms of “effects” including their measurability, but in terms of reception and epistemology, underscoring the responsibility of all related communicators.

Ostensibly, it is a plausible assumption that advertisements receive greater attention when disguised as editorial content. This assumption does not, however, stand the test of empirical validation. Nevertheless, editorial advertising tips and product placement have now seemingly become acceptable and the precept of separating advertising and programme content is increasingly being breached, not only in radio and television. In newspapers and magazines, too, the grey area between editorial text and advertising is spreading. This practice willingly tolerates violations of binding legal agreements and professional codes of ethics. This paper discusses the future viability of the principle of separating advertising and programme content in advertising, journalism and public relations.

This conceptual paper aims to explore the current state of sustainability communication research, focusing on the challenges of communicating inconvenient truths in an era of scientific mistrust. Therefore, this study aims to (1) examine the existing research landscape in sustainability communication, (2) identify unresolved problems and challenges, and (3) propose strategies for counteract misinformation through targeted communication.

For this, the authors conducted a critical literature review and analyzed the resulting sample (n = 473 journal articles) by means of qualitative content analysis to (1) evaluate existing communication approaches dealing with the communication of sustainability's inconvenient truth, (2) identify stakeholder groups involved in sustainability communication, (3) discuss limitations of current communication approaches and (4) present recommendations on (more) effective communication strategies to address the unresolved issues in sustainability communication.

The analysis reveals that when it comes to sustainability communication and its unresolved problems, literature refers to four key stakeholder groups: (1) science deniers; (2) adaptation skeptics; (3) whitewashers and (4) world saviors. Furthermore, the analysis provides valuable insights into the complex dynamics involved in communicating sustainability, emphasizes the need for tailored approaches to engage and address the concerns of each stakeholder group, and exposes limitations in current communication methods and approaches. Accordingly, the analysis highlights the necessity of developing new theories, models and methods specific to sustainability communication to tackle its unique challenges effectively.

Like our society, communication sciences need a fundamental transformation to meet sustainability communication's new challenges induced by the necessary shift toward sustainable development.

This paper provides a comprehensive overview of the current state of sustainability communication in research, specifically addressing the challenges of effectively communicating unpleasant news in the context of scientific mistrust. It fills a gap in existing literature by examining the progress made in addressing these issues and identifying the emerging challenges that need to be addressed.

The development of teaching public relations in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is an important topic to uncover because it is related to and to some extent parallel with the development of the UAE and its vital sectors. The purpose of the study is determine the circumstances of the emergence of teaching public relations in the UAE, to investigate public relations education offered in the UAE universities, to discuss the development of public relations education including challenges and opportunities.

The authors conducted 12 semistructured interviews with public relations educators in the UAE universities to understand the importance, development and current status of public relations and education.

The finding indicates a lot of developments took place in the establishment of public relations programs and its professionalization within a short time span, but more empirical research is needed to address the issues that have been brought up in the study.

The current research looked at the undergraduate public relations programs, but the status of graduate programs in communication and public relations needs to be investigated. More research in academic field is needed to discuss how the development of the public relations education influenced the public relations practice in UAE.

There is not much research done specifically on the public relations education in the UAE. The study sheds light on understanding the perspective of public relations educators on public relations programs and provides insights on how public relations education can be integrated to the local context without losing the global perspective.