Communication

Anatomy of the Italian Web TV ecosystem. Current issues and future challenges.

by Valentina Bazzarin

Co-authored with Emiliano Trerè

The aim of this article is to provide an overview of the emergent Italian Web TV ecosystem. We begin by sketching a... more The aim of this article is to provide an overview of the emergent Italian Web TV ecosystem. We begin by sketching a summary of the Italian media scenario, focusing on three related aspects: the Rai-Mediaset duopoly, the Berlusconi anomaly and digital revolution of the TV system. We then switch to the Italian digital resistance scenario and describe some of the most interesting experiences developed in the Italian context. In the third part, we dissect and analyze the phenomenon of Italian Web TVs, exploring its roots, legal status, producers and audiences. We conclude by providing a reflection on Italian Web TVs as an ecosystem, both by pointing out some future challenges it will face within the Italian media scenario and by focusing on the role of active citizens and unprofessional producers in changing the scenario and in advocating pluralism and creativeness.

Kurumada, C. and Jaeger, T.F. 2012. Communicatively efficient language production and case-marker omission in Japanese. The 34th Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society (CogSci12). Sapporo, Japan. July, 2012.

by T. Florian Jaeger

Feel free to cite. For page numbers, pls see the CogSci Proceedings webpage.

Recent proposals hold that language production reflects speakers bias to achieve efficient information transmission.... more Recent proposals hold that language production reflects speakers bias to achieve efficient information transmission. Speakers tend to provide more linguistic signal for information that is difficult to recover while omitting or reducing contextually inferable elements. However, previous findings in support of this hypothesis have been claimed to be compatible with alternative explanations in terms of production difficulty, therefore not requiring reference to communicative efficiency. We present two recall-production experiments on Japanese speakers’ preference in optional object case-marking that test the predictions of communicative efficiency accounts, while ruling out alternative explanations in terms of production difficulty. We find that speakers of Japanese are more likely to mark objects with case, if the referential properties of the object (Experiment 1) or the combination of subject, object, and verb (Experiment 2) bias against the intended assignment of grammatical functions. Together the experiments provide evidence that speakers prefer to provide case-marking if the intended interpretation of the sentence is unexpected or implausible.

Misyurov D.A. Dialectical formulas based on the binary notation as the development formulas // Credo New. 2012. №2

by Dmitry Misyurov

The article suggests dialectical formulas based on the binary notation as the development formulas: formula with... more The article suggests dialectical formulas based on the binary notation as the development formulas: formula with dominant and the non-dominant elements; universal formula; formula with symbolic weight of elements; tautological formula. For example, it suggests an opportunity to use the dialectical formulas for modeling and artificial intelligence creation, etc.

National Communication Policies: Genesis, reception and evolution of the concept in democratic Catalonia

by Josep Angel Guimera

In the 21st century, the field of communication policies studies has launched a timely process of revision of notions... more In the 21st century, the field of communication policies studies has launched a timely process of revision of notions of ‘communication policy’ and ‘media policy’ in the light of changes observed in their definition, scope and praxis. One of the central aspects of the discussion is the growing strength gained since the mid-1980s by private actors, supranational political organisations and independent bodies with regard to the definition, adoption and implementation of regulatory measures, to the detriment of state government leadership. This article aims to contribute to that debate in two ways. The first is to draw on 1970s’ Latin-American thought on national communication policies (NCPs) as cultural autonomy and development tools. The second is to present how these ideas were received by a number of scholars in Catalonia in the 1980’s and how they have re-elaborated the NCPs concept on the basis of the importance of public communication policies for national reconstruction in a stateless nation.

Understanding communication of health information: A lesson in health literacy for junior medical and physiotherapy students

by Frank Doyle

Journal of Health Psychology, in press

Best practice communication between healthcare professionals and patients involves using quality patient information... more Best practice communication between healthcare professionals and patients involves using quality patient information leaflets (PILs). We assessed medical and physiotherapy students’ (N = 337) ability to appraise the readability, psychology theory content and quality of nine international smoking PILs. Flesch scores ranged from 52.8–79.7% (standard to fairly easy). Students identified components of the Health Belief Model (84- 98%), Theory of Planned Behaviour (65–88%) and Transtheoretical Model (37–86%). Importantly, student-proposed additional theory-based content had no detrimental effect on readability scores. Overall quality scores indicated low–moderate quality. This assignment helped students critically evaluate the utility of PILs for communication.

Why your TeamSTEPPS program may not be working

by Timothy Clapper

Clapper, T. C., & Ng, G. M. (2012, in press). Why your TeamSTEPPS program may not be working. Clinical Simulation in Nursing. doi:10.1016/j.ecns.2012.03.007

Co-authored with Grace Ng

Team Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety ® (TeamSTEPPS) is a patient safety tool developed... more Team Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety ® (TeamSTEPPS) is a patient safety tool developed by the defense industry and based on four competencies: leadership, communication, situational monitoring, and mutual support. Unfortunately, there are barriers that prevent TeamSTEPPS from reaching its full potential, including: (a) lack of administrative support and resources, (b) lack of training focus to address hierarchal differences and incivility at all levels of health care practice and administration, (c) inadequate TeamSTEPPS instruction and simulation practices, and (d) educators’ resistance to change from crew resource management concepts. Suggestions for improvement include providing command and health care agency emphasis for the TeamSTEPPS program, providing adequate material and personnel resources, designing training that is geared to trainer implementation at the departmental level, prioritizing and saturating training, and striving toward a just culture.

Challenges to workplace dignity in a total institution: Examining the experiences of Foxconn’s migrant workforce

by Kristen Lucas

Lucas, K., Kang, D., & Li, Z. (in press). Challenges to workplace dignity in a total institution: Examining the experiences of Foxconn’s migrant workforce. Journal of Business Ethics. doi: 10.1007/s10551-012-1328-0

In 2010, a cluster of suicides at the electronics manufacturing giant Foxconn Technology Group sparked worldwide... more In 2010, a cluster of suicides at the electronics manufacturing giant Foxconn Technology Group sparked worldwide outcry about working conditions at its factories in China. Within a few short months, 14 young migrant workers jumped to their deaths from buildings on the Foxconn campus, an all-encompassing compound where they had worked, eaten, and slept. Even though the language of workplace dignity was invoked in official responses from Foxconn and its business partner Apple, neither of these parties directly examined workers’ dignity in their ensuing audits. Based on our analysis of media accounts of life at Foxconn, we argue that its total institution structure imposed unique indignities on its workers that both raised questions of their self-respect and self-worth, as well as gave rise to multiple episodes of disrespectful communication. We interpret our findings in light of the larger cultural context and meanings of work in China to understand more fully the experience of dignity of Foxconn’s migrant workforce.

Wahl-Jorgensen, K., and Cole, B. (2006). Communication rights and journalism in Sierra Leone. Media Development 2006 issue 4, 29-33.

by Karin Wahl-Jorgensen

Sierra Leone is emerging from a decade-long civil war, which ended in 2002. The war undermined an already fragile... more Sierra Leone is emerging from a decade-long civil war, which ended in 2002. The war undermined an already fragile political, educational, economic and media infrastructure, leaving the nation struggling to pick up the pieces. Nevertheless, Sierra Leone also has a proud tradition of indigenous indepen•dent media. This article looks at Sierra Leone’s newspapers as a case study in the difficulties of supporting the right to communicate under conditions of poverty and underdevelopment.

Lewis, J., Wahl-Jorgensen, K., & Inthorn, S. (2004). Images of citizenship on television news: Constructing a passive public. Journalism Studies 5(2), 153-164 (reprinted in M. Ryan (Ed.) (2008), Cultural studies: An anthology. Oxford: Blackwell.

by Karin Wahl-Jorgensen

Based on the largest content analysis of its kind, this article analyses the ways in which public opinion and... more Based on the largest content analysis of its kind, this article analyses the ways in which public opinion and citizenship is referenced or invoked on television news in the United States and Britain. The study is discussed in the context of the debate about declining citizen participation in representative politics.
One of the study’s main findings is that citizenship and public opinion are generally represented as passive, rather than engaged. This suggests that showing an engaged citizenry conflicts with current journalistic practices, and that any attempt to encourage more engagement will require rethinking those conventions.

Brookes, R. A., Lewis, J., & Wahl-Jorgensen, K. (2004). The media representation of public opinion: British television news coverage of the 2001 general election. Media, Culture & Society 26(2), 63-80.

by Karin Wahl-Jorgensen

Wahl-Jorgensen, K. (2005). The market vs. the right to communicate: The anti-political local press in Britain and the journalism of consensus. Javnost/The Public 12(3), 79-94.

by Karin Wahl-Jorgensen

The ethics of global disaster reporting: Journalistic witnessing and the challenge to objectivity

by Karin Wahl-Jorgensen

Wahl-Jorgensen, K, and Pantti, M. (forthcoming). The ethics of global disaster reporting: Journalistic witnessing and the challenge to objectivity. In S. Ward (Ed.), Global Media Ethics: Problems and Perspectives. New York: Wiley-Blackwell.

Final version to be uploaded shortly! Final version to be uploaded shortly!

Les applications de la sémiotique à la communication des organisations

by Andrea Catellani

Ces deux domaines complexes que sont la sémiotique-sémiologie et la recherche en communication des organisations... more Ces deux domaines complexes que sont la sémiotique-sémiologie et la recherche en communication des organisations présentent une certaine richesse de croisements, de figures d’échange et de rencontre, d’ailleurs plus ou moins internes au domaine de l’information et de la communication. D’un point de vue général, les organisations sont des « machines sémiotiques » à cause de leur incessante production de sens et de textualités, à l’intérieur comme vers l’extérieur. Cette production est nécessaire pour leur existence, bien avant les objectifs de « succès », réputation et efficacité auprès des publics et des parties prenantes. Les organisations sont même des « machines paresseuses », comme le disait Eco à propos des textes (1979), parce que l’interprétation des organisations, la « lecture » que les acteurs sociaux peuvent en faire, et donc au fond leur existence, est liée strictement à l’activité interprétative, sociale, politique, etc. des acteurs humains (sans oublier leur prothèses, interfaces et « adjuvants » non-humaines).

L’analyse des organisations rend donc possible le croisement de la tradition sémiotique avec les SIC. Le développement des socio-sémiotiques est particulièrement intéressant pour les SIC, tout comme les évolutions de la sémio-pragmatique. Nous constatons en tout cas que, si des recherches sémiotiques sur les textualités et les pratiques des organisations existent, une véritable sémiotique de l’organisation reste peut-être encore à construire. Sera-t-il alors le rapprochement avec les SIC, et en particulier avec certaines approches « constitutives » de la communication organisante, à rendre plus facile cette naissance ? Nous imaginons ici donc un processus inverse, une fécondation de retour.

Du point de vue des SIC, les apports sémiotiques seront toujours importants pour mieux saisir la dimension de la production et circulation du « sens » et des signes. Il ne s’agit pas du tout d’imposer un courant « textualiste » en SIC d’organisation, qui serait centré sur le texte (verbal) en contraposition aux courants plus « actionnistes » (centrés sur l’analyse de l’interaction et de l’action des acteurs). Nous soulignons que l’organisation entière, ses objets, ses interactions, et les actions de ses acteurs sont des objets possibles pour l’analyse sémiotique autant que les textualités plus traditionnelles. Il s’agit donc plutôt de montrer l’utilité d’une ouverture, d’une attention réciproque, et aussi de certaines fertilisations croisées au niveau conceptuel et méthodologique

Comparative Development of Communication: An Evolutionary Perspective

by Adolfo Perinat

2007. In J. Valsiner & A. Rosa (Eds.), The Cambridge Handbook of Sociocultural Psychology (pp. 140-163). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

It is difficult, if not impossible, to discuss the comparative development of commu- nication except from a... more It is difficult, if not impossible, to discuss the comparative development of commu- nication except from a phylogenetic standpoint. In this sense, the title ofthis chapter is redundant. Moreover, the comparative task is highly complicated. Is there any basis for comparison between the forms of communication used by arthropods, anurans, birds, or aquatic mammals, or between human or non-human primates7 And if there is, what is it? In an attempt to encompass the great diversity ofthe forms of communication that exist in the animal world, the definitions that have been proposed inevitably fall back upon generalities, making use of concepts like "transmission of information", "probability of response to a signal", "sharing elements of behavior", or "the means of achieving coordinated action". We are immediately confronted by a further difficulty: each species has evolved forms of communication that make use of the particular properties of its physical environment. Some species use a single dimension: visual, sonorous, olfactory, electrical, or echolocation. Others (the higher species) make simultaneous use of various dimensions. The type of communication found among organisms with simple nervous systems does not - and cannot - have the same properties and complexity as communication produced by central nervous systems. The immense diversity of communicative "forms" makes it impossible to define even minimally acceptable comparative criteria.

Perverse effects of other-referenced performance goals in an information exchange context

by Nico W. Van Yperen

Design-led strategies for bushfire preparedness

by Yoko Akama

Co-authored by Yoko Akama, Susan Chaplin, Richard Philips, Keith Toh

Bushfire CRC research team: ‘Effective Communication: Communities and Bushfire’. RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia

Paper presented at EARTH: FIRE AND RAIN
Australian & New Zealand Disaster and Emergency Management Conference, Brisbane, 16 – 18, April 2012

To date, both government and fire authorities in Victoria have deployed a variety of communication messages on... more To date, both government and fire authorities in Victoria have deployed a variety of communication messages on bushfire awareness. Yet, distributing information to a wide audience is not enough to increase people’s preparedness for bushfire. These forms of communication sustain a transmission process that reinforces the power-dynamics of control, making audiences passive. It perpetuates the disempowerment felt by communities who are not engaged in a dialogic process, further broadening the gap between ‘expert’ fire authorities and ‘non-expert’ community. This paper presents co-design methods that were used to facilitate a dialogic form of communication on bushfire preparedness with community members in the Southern Otways, Victoria. The research engaged a group of 20 residents to facilitate co-creation and communication of local knowledge of the geographical environment through visualisation. These methods show potential of bridging relationships between neighbours and the importance of social interactions that can lead to better fire preparation.

Krpic, T. 2007. Cognitive Body Agency. International Journal of the Humanities 5 (10): 141-148.

by Tomaž Krpič

The author’s prime aim is to introduce the concept of cognitive body agency into cognitive sociology. This is going to... more The author’s prime aim is to introduce the concept of cognitive body agency into cognitive sociology. This is going to be obtained in three steps. First, a brief review of cognitive sociology will be given with regards to the absence of the concept of carnal body, due to a complete preoccupation of the discipline with ‘the body from the neck up’. Secondly, several reasons will be given for the absence of the concept of the carnal body in sociology in general. Thirdly, the author will give the arguments for the concept of cognitive body agency by referring to communication theory and by accepting the body as a material force in its own right.

The instrumentalization of the communicative citizenship field in the context of armed conflict: the case of the Association of Organized Women of Eastern Antioquia in Colombia (English Version)

by Camilo Andres Tamayo Gomez

In this paper I would like to present two important aspects of the PhD research project called “Communicative... more In this paper I would like to present two important aspects of the PhD research project called “Communicative citizenship, another dimension of rights” that is supported by The Centre for Research in the Social Sciences at The University of Huddersfield.

First, I would like to introduce the concept of communicative citizenship, some key issues, principal categories and dimensions, and how the creation of this field could overcome the gap with regards to the relationship between communication, citizenship and human rights.

Second, I will present preliminary results of one case study that shows how this model applies to a specific social, political and economic context and how this communicative citizenship field could work in different scales.

This paper aims at a preliminary analysis of the experience of the Association of Organized Women of Eastern Antioquia – AMOR – in Colombia, a collective of women victims in the Colombian armed conflict. It explores how this group uses socio-communicative resources in order to claim human rights in local and regional public spheres and examines the ways that these socio-communicative strategies affect categories of identity, recognition, power and visibility in this region.

Donner le feed-back en interaction face à face, quels effets d’influence ?

by Nawar Amane

Released in May 2012

En terme de communication, qu’on en soit conscient ou non, nous recherchons toujours à atteindre au
moins un... more En terme de communication, qu’on en soit conscient ou non, nous recherchons toujours à atteindre au
moins un objectif, parfois plusieurs dont un certain nombre au niveau inconscient. Nous allons nous
intéresser ici à l’objectif conscient. Pour atteindre cet objectif, il faut constamment garder sous un
oeil bienveillant le comportement de l’interlocuteur. Le comportement ici concerné est appelé
feedback et est essentiellement la clé de réussite de tout bon communiquant, d’après l’article de
Fréderic Demarquet, « Le feedback en communication ».
Ce papier présentera l’importance d’abord du feedback dans la communication en général, ses
types et ses limites. Ensuite se penchera sur l’influence du feedback dans l’interaction face à face
dans un contexte de communication professionnel.
IV. Le Feedback
1. Définition

Por uma teoria da publicização: transformações no processo publicitário

by Vander Casaqui

This article focuses on the analysis of changes in the advertising process, influenced by the current scenario, which... more This article focuses on the analysis of changes in the advertising process, influenced by the current scenario, which combines new technicities, sociabilities, ritualities and institucionalities — configured in meeting points between consumers, producers, goods and communication flows. The structure of our thinking is based on the map of mediations proposed by Martín-Barbero: we start from the discussion about the cultural matrices of advertising to reach the issues of communication contracts updated by contemporary forms of communication linked to consumption. This theoretical approach aims to delimit the focus of interest in studies of publicization — a concept that covers the mutations of the strategies involving persuasive communication of the corporations, brands and goods.