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Showing papers in "Communication Theory in 2012"


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors proposed a theoretical model that hypothesizes how specific areas of digital and social exclusion influence each other and argued that they relate mostly for similar (economic, cultural, social, personal) fields of resources.
Abstract: The notion of digital exclusion has become important in communications research but remains undertheorized. This article proposes a theoretical model that hypothesizes how specific areas of digital and social exclusion influence each other. In this corresponding fields model, it is argued that they relate mostly for similar (economic, cultural, social, personal) fields of resources. The model further proposes that the influence of offline exclusion fields on digital exclusion fields is mediated by access, skills, and attitudinal or motivational aspects. On the other hand, the relevance, quality, ownership, and sustainability of engagement with different digital resources is said to mediate the influence of engagement on offline exclusion. Research supporting this model and possible operationalizations in empirical research and interventions are presented.

348 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors introduce media ecology and reflect on its potential usefulness for gaining an understanding of the contemporary mutations of the media system, including evolution, interface, and hybridization.
Abstract: This article introduces media ecology and reflects on its potential usefulness for gaining an understanding of the contemporary mutations of the media system. The first section maps the origins of the field, specifically the development of the ecological metaphor. The second section explores the metaphor by including the concepts of evolution, interface, and hybridization in the media ecology discourse. The concept of evolution creates a theoretical framework for studying the history of media and suggests new concepts and questions about media extinction, survival, and coevolution. The concept of interface focuses on the media, subject, and social interactions. Finally, the analysis of media hybridizations is basic for understanding the appearance of new media that combine different devices, languages, and functions.

174 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A systematic description of various positions on dialogue and their implications for understanding activism and social change can be found in this paper, where the authors argue for a multivocal, agonistic perspective on dialogue that centers issues of power and conflict in activism.
Abstract: This article provides a systematic description of various positions on dialogue and their implications for understanding activism and social change. It describes three orientations toward dialogue—collaboration, co-optation, and agonism—which are differentiated by assumptions regarding the pervasiveness of dialogue, the role of difference, and conceptions of power. We argue for a multivocal, agonistic perspective on dialogue that centers issues of power and conflict in activism. Such a perspective illuminates a broad range of activist tactics for social change instead of privileging consensus-oriented methods. These approaches are illustrated with two ethnographic case studies that highlight the importance of lay theories of activism and dialogue.

138 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Christiansen and Just as mentioned in this paper called for a fundamental restructuring of research paradigms in geography and media/communication studies to form a bridge between core concerns of the two disciplines.
Abstract: We call for a fundamental restructuring of research paradigms in geography and media/communication studies to form a bridge between core concerns of the 2 disciplines. This endeavor responds to contemporary historical changes: mediated/mediatized mobility, technological convergence, interactivity, new communication interfaces, and the automation of surveillance. Long-standing concern with a set of issues we call representations, textures, structures, and connections provides a foundation for this interdisciplinary bridge. Integrating these concerns would produce a semi autonomous field, manifested through collaborations between geographers and media theorists. Accomplir la diversite : capacite d’agir texte-auditoire et alternatives rhetoriques Sine Just & Tanja Christiansen Les enjeux de capacite d’agir (agency) dans les associations texte—auditoire sont moins etudies que ne le sont d’autres aspects de la capacite d’agir rhetorique.Nous suggerons de conceptualiser et d’analyser l’association entre les textes et les auditoires grâce a la perspective de la performativite, telle qu’elle a ete developpee par Judith Butler.Ainsi, nous soutenons que les textes invitent les auditoires a accepter des positions de sujets, comprises comme etant des combinaisons d’identite et de capacite d’agir.La rhetorique danoise de la gestion de la diversite joue le role d’un exemple illustratif. En analysant ce type de rhetorique, nous montrons comment les sujets sont appeles a des positions moderees de similarite/difference et demontrons ainsi le potentiel explicatif du cadre performatif.Par la suite, nous discutons des manieres par lesquelles le concept de personapeut offrir une base pour des alternatives au positionnement contraignant qui domine actuellement la rhetorique de la gestion de la diversite. Mots cles : capacite d’agir rhetorique, identite, performativite, gestion de la diversite, communication de la diversite Kommunikationsgeographie: Eine Brucke zwischen den Disziplinen Wir pladieren fur eine grundlegende Neustrukturierung der Forschungsparadigmen in der Geographie und der Medien- und Kommunikationswissenschaft, um eine Brucke zwischen den Kernthemen dieser zwei Disziplinen zu schlagen. Mit diesem Ansinnen reagieren wir auf aktuelle geschichtliche Veranderungen wie mediatisierte Mobilitat, technologische Konvergenz, Interaktivitat, neue Kommunikationsoberflachen und die Automatisierung von Uberwachung. Grundlage fur diese interdisziplinare Brucke bieten bereits seit langem existierende Uberlegungen zu verschiedenen Aspekten wie Reprasentationen, Texturen, Strukturen und Verbindungen. Die Integration dieser beiden Bereiche wurde ein halbautonomes Forschungsfeld hervorbringen, welches sich in der Zusammenarbeit von Geographen und Medientheoretikern manifestiert. Schlusselbegriffe: Kommunikationsgeographie, Interdisziplinare Forschung, Ort, Raum, Mediatisierung La Geografia de la Comunicacion: Un Puente entre las Disciplinas Resumen: Solicitamos una re-estructuracion fundamental de los paradigmas de investigacion en los estudios de la geografia y los medios/la comunicacion para formar un puente entre los preocupaciones claves de dos disciplinas. Este intento responde a los cambios historicos contemporaneos: la movilidad mediada/mediatizada, la convergencia tecnologica, la interactividad, las interfaces de los nueva comunicacion, y la automatizacion de la vigilancia. Las inquietudes de larga duracion con una serie de asuntos que llamamos representaciones, texturas, estructuras, y conexiones proveen de una fundacion para el puente interdisciplinario. Integrando estos asuntos produciria un campo semiautonomo, manifestado a traves de las colaboraciones entre los geografos y los teoricos de los medios. Palabras Claves:Geografia de la comunicacion, Investigacion interdisciplinaria, Lugar, Espacio, Mediatizacion

94 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
Adam Klein1
TL;DR: A new theory of information laundering is presented to explain the process by which racial hate speech is becoming legitimized through a borrowed network of online associations.
Abstract: Many studies in recent years have addressed the notable ways that Internet features such as blogs and search engines have democratized the community of information seekers and providers, however, fewer investigations have addressed the darker element that has emerged from that same democratic sphere. That is, the huge resurgence and transformation of racist communities across cyberspace. This article presents a new theory of information laundering to explain the process by which racial hate speech is becoming legitimized through a borrowed network of online associations. This Internet-specific theory builds upon research of “information-based” racist propaganda to explain how today's search engines, social networks, and political blogs unwittingly enable purveyors of bigotry to infiltrate into mainstream spaces of public discourse.

72 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors argue that the cognitive processes involved in mediating frame effect need to leave durable traces in a person's knowledge to raise a persistent effect. And they discuss under which conditions these memory traces will likely affect judgment formation also after the stimulus is gone.
Abstract: The social relevance of framing effects hinges upon their ability to persist. This article develops a theoretical account of the conditions under which framing effects should vanish quickly, fade slowly, or cause permanent changes. It argues that the cognitive processes involved in mediating frame effect need to leave durable traces in a person's knowledge to raise a persistent effect. This paper distinguishes temporary changes in the accessibility of knowledge from durable changes in the applicability structure and belief content. It discusses under which conditions these memory traces will likely affect judgment formation also after the stimulus is gone. We argue that the durability of framing effects can be modeled based on the chronic accessibility of frame-relevant knowledge and the familiarity of the frame.

64 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that recent technological developments have made Eveland's (2003) "mix-of-attributes" (MOAs) framework particularly useful for theorizing about effects of today's "digital" media.
Abstract: In this article, we argue that recent technological developments have made Eveland's (2003) “mix-of-attributes” (MOAs) framework particularly useful for theorizing about effects of today's “digital” media We use an example of political user-generated content (UGC) to illustrate the framework's usefulness We focus on 5 core attributes of UGC, which are important for understanding its nature and effects: search efficiency, customization, manipulability, cost reduction, and community orientation This study advances communication theory by (a) illustrating how MOA approach can be applied to explicate an online media form through its attributes; (b) elaborating on the frequently studied, but never thoroughly examined, phenomenon of political UGC; and (c) explicating 5 novel technological attributes useful for examining effects of UGC and other media Les effets des medias dans une ere de transformations technologiques rapides : un cas de contenu genere par l’utilisateur et la participation politique Dans cet article, nous soumettons que de recents developpements technologiques ont rendu le cadre « melange d’attributs » (mix-of-attributes, MOA) d’Eveland (2003) particulierement utile pour theoriser les effets des medias « numeriques » d’aujourd’hui Nous prenons un exemple de contenu genere par l’utilisateur (CGU) de nature politique pour illustrer l’utilite du cadreNous insistons sur cinq attributs centraux du CGU qui sont importants pour en comprendre la nature et les effets : l’efficacite de la recherche, la personnalisation, la souplesse du systeme, la reduction des couts et l’orientation communautaireCette etude fait avancer les theories de la communication (1) en illustrant comment une approche MOA peut etre appliquee a l’analyse d’une forme mediatique en ligne par ses attributs, (2) en elaborant sur le phenomene souvent etudie mais jamais minutieusement examine du CGU de nature politique, et (3) en developpant cinq nouveaux attributs technologiques qui sont utiles pour examiner les effets du CGU et d’autres medias Mots cles : communication et technologie, methodes de recherche en communication, communication politique, traitement de l’information, effets mediatiques, philosphie de la science sociale Medienwirkungen in einer Zeit rasanter technologischer Veranderungen: Das Beispiel nutzergenerierter Inhalt und politische Partizipation In diesem Artikel argumentieren wir, dass der ,,Mix of Attributes-Ansatz“von Eveland (2003) vor dem Hintergrund aktueller technologischer Entwicklungen sinnvoll anwendbar ist, um theoretische Uberlegungen zu den Wirkungen heutiger ,,digitaler“ Medien anzustellen Am Beispiel politischer nutzergenerierter Inhalte, illustrieren wir die Anwendbarkeit des Ansatzes Dabei fokussieren wir auf vier Kernattribute von nutzergenerierten Inhalten, die wesentlich zum Verstandnis von Eigenschaften und Wirkungen beitragen: Sucheffizienz, Anpassung, Systemresponsivitat, Kostenreduktion und Orientierung an der Gemeinschaft Diese Studie erweitert damit Kommunikationstheorie, indem erstens aufgezeigt wird, wie dieser Ansatz angewendet werden kann, um eine Onlinemedienart durch ihre Eigenschaften zu explizieren Zweitens erfolgt eine intensive Auseinandersetzung mit dem haufig thematisierten, aber niemals wirklich untersuchten Phanomen der politischen nutzergenerierten Inhalte und drittens werden funf Attribute neuer Technologien expliziert, die fur die Untersuchung von Wirkungen von nutzergenerierten Inhalten und anderen Medien nutzlich sind Schlusselbegriffe: Kommunikation und Technologie, Kommunikationsforschungsmethoden, politische Kommunikation, Informationsverarbeitung, Medienwirkungen, Philosophie der Sozialwissenschaften Los Efectos de los Medios en una Era de Rapida Transformacion Tecnologica: Un Caso del Contenido y la Participacion Politica Generado por el Usuario Resumen: En este articulo arguimos que los desarrollos tecnologicos recientes han hecho al marco de la “mezcla de atributos” de Eveland’s (2003) (MOA) particularmente util para teorizar acerca de los efectos de los medios “digitales” de hoy Usamos un ejemplo de contenido politico generado por el usuario (UGC) para ilustrar la utilidad del marco Nos enfocamos en cinco atributos centrales del UGC, los cuales son importantes para entender su naturaleza y sus efectos: La busqueda de la eficiencia, la personalizacion, el sistema de receptividad, la reduccion del costo, y la orientacion de la comunidad Este estudio avanza la teoria de la comunicacion (1) ilustrando como el marco MOA puede ser aplicado para explicar una forma de medios online a traves de sus atributos; (2) elaborando en los frecuentemente estudiados, pero nunca examinados en profundidad, fenomenos de las politicas de los UGC; y (3) explicando cinco atributos noveles tecnologicos utiles para examinar los efectos de los UGC y otros medios Palabras Claves:Comunicacion y Tecnologia, Metodos de Investigacion de la Comunicacion, Comunicacion Politica, Procesamiento de la Informacion, Efectos de los Medios, Filosofia de la Ciencia Social

64 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This paper propose a theoretical framework for understanding journalistic expertise, based on a revision of Collins and Evans' model, which suggests that experienced journalists develop different degrees of bipolar expertise, specializing in interactions with their sources on one hand and audiences on the other.
Abstract: This article offers a theoretical framework for understanding journalistic expertise, based on a revision of Collins and Evans' model. While their model maintains that a small elite of experienced and diligent journalists can become “interactional experts” in the respective specializations of their news sources, the current paper suggests that experienced journalists develop different degrees of bipolar “interactional expertise,” specializing in interactions with their sources on one hand and audiences on the other. The audience pole not only limits their expertise and fits it to the constraints of the news environment but also drives and legitimizes their focus on information that is simple and quick to obtain and convey and is ostensibly interesting and important for their audiences.

51 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors propose a programmatic research agenda that begins operationalizing this perspective by fostering an examination of media technologies as text-o-material assemblages, which can be seen as a way of making sense of agency dynamics.
Abstract: This article examines the scholarship on agency in the appropriation of information and communication technologies in communication and media research and science and technology studies. Work in these fields has been limited by inability to depict the ways in which materiality and content intersect in technology use and why that matters for making sense of agency dynamics. This article articulates a “texto-material” perspective that combines analysis of users' content creation and interpretation practices with an assessment of how they appropriate and shape artifacts. Building on the small body of work that has explored the intersections of these dimensions, we propose a programmatic research agenda that begins operationalizing this perspective by fostering an examination of media technologies as texto-material assemblages. Nier les noœuds et la fragmentation liquide : developper les conversations sur la diffusion, les reseaux sociaux et la fragmentation Cet article propose des approches renouvelees a deux domaines cles de la recherche en communication : la diffusion des innovations et la modelisation de la fragmentation.L’exploration d’un possible vide dans la modelisation des nœuds pourrait donner des idees pour une mise a jour des approches dans ces domaines de la recherche en communication et dans d’autres.Un argument est expose en faveur de plus d’etudes sur les implications des technologies et des plateformes de communication numerisees, ainsi que de leurs utilisateurs, sur la nature explicative et predictive de la diffusion traditionnelle de meme que leur impact sur les reseaux sociaux unis par des liens forts et faibles.Avec en toile de fond la theorie des reseaux (en particulier les liens forts et faibles) et un modele de fragmentation connexe, cet article encourage l’exploration scientifique des comportements de reseaux actualises et de leur influence possible sur au moins un domaine connexe de la recherche en communication. Mots cles : diffusion, reseaux, reseaux sociaux, fragmentation, liens faibles, petits mondes An der Schnittstelle zwischen Inhalt und Materialitat: Ein texto-stofflicher Blick auf die Nutzung von Medientechnologien In diesem Artikel befassen wir uns mit dem Thema Agentschaft bei der Aneignung von Medientechnologien in Forschungsarbeiten aus der Kommunikationsforschung und -wissenschaft sowie Technikwissenschaft. Insbesondere betrachten wir, wie Wissenschaftler dieser und angrenzenderForschungsgebiete, die Themen Materialitat und Inhalt untersucht haben. Wir kommen in unserer Analyse zu dem Schluss, dass trotz der Fulle an Arbeiten bislang ungeklart ist, wie sich Materialitat und Inhalt bei der Nutzung von Medientechnologien uberschneiden und warum dies helfen kann, die Dynamiken der Agentschaft zu verstehen. Um diese Grenzen zu uberwinden, verwenden wir in unserem Artikel eine ,,texto-stoffliche“ Perspektive, die die Analyse der Inhaltsgenerierung und Interpretationspraktiken durch die Nutzer mit einer Einschatzung, wie die Nutzer sich diese Artefakte aneignen und gestalten verknupft. Schlusselbegriffe: Kommunikation und Technologie, Medienwissenschaft, Neue Medientheorie En la Interseccion entre el Contenido y la Materialidad: Una Perspectiva Texto-Material sobre el Uso de las Tecnologias de los Medios Resumen: Este articulo examina la erudicion acerca de la agencia en la apropiacion de las tecnologias de los medios en la investigacion de la comunicacion y los estudios de la ciencia y la tecnologia enfocandose en como los estudiosos en estos y algunos campos vecinos han estudiado los asuntos de la materialidad y el contenido. El analisis sugiere que, a pesar de sus muchas contribuciones, el trabajo en esos campos ha sido limitado por la inhabilidad para representar las formas en las que la materialidady el contenido se cruzan en el uso de la tecnologia de los medios y porque eso importa para dar sentido a las dinamicas de la agencia. Para superar estos defectos, este ensayo articula una perspectiva “texto-material” que combina un analisis de la creacion de contenido por los usuarios y las practicas de interpretacion con una evaluacion de como ellos apropian y dan forma a los artefactos. Palabras claves:Comunicacion y Tecnologia, Estudios de los Medios, Teoria de los Nuevos Medios

44 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors examine how the construct social capital is explicated and measured by communications scholars and argue that linkages between concepts and measures are not always clear and operationalizations of social capital are far from uniform in empirical studies.
Abstract: The authors examine how the construct social capital is explicated and measured by communicationscholarsincontemporaryresearchandarguethatlinkagesbetweenconcepts and measures are not always clear and operationalizations of social capital are far from uniform in empirical studies. The authors also note that the measures of social capital fall along 2 dimensions: a static–dynamic continuum and an informal–formal path, which are largely ignored. The authors challenge communication scholars to reexamine the theoretical underpinnings of social capital research articulated by Pierre Bourdieu and James S. Coleman and to reconsider how the role and functions of communication might drive social capital. We explore the construct social capital with particular attention to the way communication scholars have explicated and measured the concept. Researchers in our field have, on balance, concentrated on social ties as indicators of social capital, attending to the strength, amount, and frequency of ties that are best described as ‘‘social relationships.’’ Our examination, therefore, focuses on how such social relationships have been conceptualized and measured. We found that social relationships reveal underlying dimensions that allow us to offer a typology of ties, thus clarifying how variables are constructed. We then consider how such measures both illuminate and ignore social capital as conceptualized by scholars who introduced the term and how communication researchers have added to the body of knowledge on social capital.

43 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors proposed a model based on uses and gratifications theory and differential impact hypothesis to predict the impact of audience motivation on risk perception, and the model predicts that mixed motivation of surveillance and enjoyment will result in similar degrees of both social and personal risk perceptions.
Abstract: Thisstudyproposesatheoreticalmodelpostulatingtheimpactofaudiencemotivationonrisk perception. Drawing from uses and gratifications theory and differential impact hypothesis, the model consists of 5 major propositions. First, an overarching proposition postulating the capacity of audience motivation to serve as a mental frame on media exposure is proposed. Surveillance motivation is postulated to influence social risk perception, whereas enjoyment motivation is postulated to influence personal risk perception to a greater extent. Moreover, the model predicts that mixed motivation of surveillance and enjoyment will result in similar degrees of both social and personal risk perceptions. Lastly, the effect of personal salience on the proposed influences is presented. Theoretical and practical implications of the model are discussed.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors investigates the ideological construction of neoliberal multiculturalism in the National Broadcasting Company's series Outsourced, starring a White male lead that manages a call center in India, and argues that the show advances global capitalism by co-opting multiculturalism to provide moral authority for Western neoliberal capitalism in the context of an inequitable global exchange.
Abstract: This study investigates the ideological construction of neoliberal multiculturalism in the National Broadcasting Company's series Outsourced, starring a White male lead that manages a call center in India. We argue that the show advances global capitalism by co-opting multiculturalism to provide moral authority for Western neoliberal capitalism in the context of an inequitable global exchange. Neoliberalism benefits from postracialism by privatizing racism, thereby muting calls for antiracist structural reform. Relying on the ideological interests of neoliberal multiculturalism, Outsourced advances old racial logics by presenting unchallenged stereotypes of Indians and Indian culture and promotes a system of economic exchange that favors the global North while cloaking inequality with the veil of multiculturalism and the advancement of Whiteness as normative.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors highlight three limitations of the RISP model and related information-seeking models, with particular focus on the importance of identity maintenance in shaping what information the public is likely to look for in response to risk.
Abstract: In this article, we highlight 3 limitations of the risk information seeking and processing (RISP) model and related information-seeking models, with particular focus on the importance of identity maintenance in shaping what information the public is likely to look for in response to risk. We propose the disruption information seeking and processing (DISP) model as an augment to the RISP. In doing so, we add 3 constructs to the model and explicate them: disruption, norm trumping, and self-relevant information sufficiency. We close by summarizing the main theoretical contributions of the article, outlining practical applications for the DISP, and identifying promising avenues for further research and theoretical development. La perturbation et le maintien de l’identite dans la recherche et le traitement des informations sur le risque Le modele de recherche et de traitement des informations sur le risque (RTIR) combine un certain nombre de theories en un seul modele predictif qui vise a prevoir les comportements de gestion de l’information des individus en reaction a une perception de risques. Les modeles comme le RTIR peuvent tirer profit d’une caracterisation theorique plus poussee afin d’accroitre leur utilitea prevoir la recherche et le traitement d’informations portant sur les risques. Dans cet article, nous soulignons trois limites des modeles similaires au RTIR, en nous concentrant particulierement sur l’importance du maintien de l’identite dans le type d’information que le public sera susceptible de chercher en reaction au risque. Nous proposons le modele de la recherche et du traitement de l’information de perturbation (RTIP) comme complement au RTIR, en ajoutant et en expliquant trois concepts : la perturbation, la supplantation de normes et l’exhaustivite de l’information pertinente pour soi-meme. Mots cles : communication des risques, narratifs, traitement de l’information La perturbacion y la manutencion de la identidad en la busqueda y el procesamiento de la informacion riesgosa Resumen: El modelo de busqueda y procesamiento de informacion riesgosa (RISP) integra a un numero de teorias dentro de un modelo predictivo singular con el objetivo de pronosticar el comportamiento de manejo de la informacion por parte de los individuos en respuesta a los peligros percibidos. Los modelos tales como RISP se posicionan para beneficiarse de mas especificacion teorica para mejorar la utilidad de la prediccion de la busqueda y el procesamiento de la informacion relacionada con el riesgo. En este manuscrito, destacamos tres limitaciones de RISP y de los modelos relacionados, con un enfoque particular sobre la importancia de la manutencion de la identidad para dar forma a la informacion que el publico mas probablemente mira en respuesta al riesgo. Proponemos un modelo de perturbacion en la busqueda y el procesamiento de informacion (DISP) como un aumento del RISP, agregando y explicando tres constructos: la perturbacion, la norma superadora, y la suficiencia de informacion auto-relevante. Palabras claves: Comunicacion de riesgo, Narrativa, Procesamiento de la Informacion Unterbrechung und Identitatsbewahrung bei der Suche und Verarbeitung von Risikioinformationen Das Modell der Risikoinformationssuche und -verarbeitung vereint verschiedene Theorien in einem einzigen Pradiktionsmodell anhand dessen man das individuelle Informationsmanagementverhalten als Reaktion auf wahrgenommene Gefahren antizipieren kann. Derartige Modelle profitieren von einer weiterfuhrenden theoretischen Spezifikation mit dem Ziel, ihren Nutzen fur die Vorhersage von risikobezogener Informationssuche und -verarbeitung zu erweitern. In diesem Artikel betrachten wir drei Limitationen dieses und verwandter Modelle mit einem spezifischen Fokus auf die zentrale Rolle des Aspekts Identitatsbewahrung, um nachvollziehen zu konnen, welche Information die Offentlichkeit als Reaktion auf ein Risiko auswahlt. Wir stellen das Unterbrechungs-Informationssuche und -verarbeitungsmodell als eine Erweiterung des Risikoinformationssuche und -verarbeitungsmodells vor, welches drei Konstrukte integriert und elaboriert: Unterbrechung, Zentralitat von Normen und egorelevante Informationshinlanglichkeit. Schlusselbegriffe: Risikokommunikation, Narration, Informationsverarbeitung

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the similarities and differences in scholarship along three axes: methodology, ontology/epistemology, and axiology, are analyzed, and the authors argue that these older modes of mapping result in divisive academic speciation.
Abstract: Communication scholars have continually worked to resolve the well-attested fragmentation of the field. This article breaks away from the usual modes of parsing out research by disciplinary grounding, topic of investigation, or even school of thought, arguing that these older modes of mapping result in divisive academic speciation. Instead, the author proposes analyzing the similarities and differences in scholarship along three axes: methodology, ontology/epistemology, and axiology. This systemic mode produces a flexible and responsive way of viewing commonalities and tensions between scholars and approaches, suggesting productive combinations in which to flock together. Resume Les chercheurs en communication ont continuellement œuvrea resoudre la fragmentation bien connue de la discipline. Cet article s’eloigne des modes habituels de decoupage de la litterature par fondement disciplinaire, par sujet de recherche ou meme par ecole de pensee, soutenant que ces anciens modes de schematisation creent une speciation universitaire qui seme la discorde. Plutot, l’auteur propose d’analyser les similitudes et les differences au sein de la litterature selon trois axes : la methodologie, l’ontologie/l’epistemologie et l’axiologie. Cette methode systemique fournit une maniere flexible et receptive de voir les points communs et les tensions entre les chercheurs et entre les approches, ce qui suggere des combinaisons productives dans lesquelles se rassembler. Gleichgesinnte Kommunikationswissenschaftler arbeiten fortwahrend daran, die gut dokumentierte Fragmentierung des Faches aufzulosen. Dieser Artikel wendet sich von den herkommlichen Verfahren der Zergliederung der Forschung nach dem Ursprung der Disziplin, Thema der Untersuchung oder sogar Denkschule ab und argumentiert stattdessen, dass diese alteren Verfahren der Zuordnung entzweienden Charakter haben. Stattdessen schlagt der Autor vor, die Gemeinsamkeiten und Unterschiede der Forschungsarbeiten entlang dreier Dimensionen zu analysieren: Methodologie, Ontologie/Epistemologie und Axiologie. Dieses System resultiert in einer flexiblen und responsiven Art, Gemeinsamkeiten und Spannungsfelder zwischen Forschern und Ansatzen zu sehen und bietet Vorschlage fur produktive Zusammenschlusse. La Bandada de Pajaros Resumen Los eruditos de la comunicacion han trabajado en forma continua para resolver la—bien puesta a prueba fragmentacion del campo. Este articulo se aleja de los modos usuales de analizar la investigacion separandola por disciplinas, tema de investigacion, o aun por escuela de pensamiento, argumentando que estos modelos viejos de mapeo resultan en una especializacion academica divisiva. En cambio, el autor propone analizar las similitudes y diferencias de la erudicion a lo largo de tres ejes: la metodologia, la ontologia/epistemologia, y la axiologia. Este modo sistematico produce una forma flexible y receptiva de ver las cosas que tienen en comun y las tensiones entre los eruditos y las perspectivas, sugiriendo combinaciones productivas para volar en bandada.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors compare the applicability of two normative theories, Habermas's theory of communicative action and Bateson's ecology of communication, by applying them to the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.
Abstract: This study compares the applicability of 2 normative theories, Habermas's theory of communicative action and Bateson's ecology of communication, by applying them to the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. Habermas's theory of communicative action observes how communication is strategically distorted into an extreme version of what we call the inverted speech situation. This paradoxical form of systematically distorted communication does not explain the successful outcome of a deterrence situation such as the Cuban Missile Crisis. Bateson's ecology of communication shows how metacommunicative messages can affect the relations between nations, generating potentially catastrophic relational dynamics but also opportunities for constructive change. Bateson's theory explains the communicative dynamics and ultimate resolution of the Cuban Missile Crisis in terms of metacommunication, paradox, and schismogenesis.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This article used feminist standpoint epistemology theory to examine early moments in the history of communication scholarship, to theorize about the consequences of its development, and to suggest the value of future recovery work.
Abstract: The field of communication scarcely examines issues of gender in documenting its own historiography. Consequently, Hortense Powdermaker, Mae Huettig, and Helen MacGill Hughes do not seem seminal to the development of communication scholarship during its nascent era of the 1930s–1960s, despite these women working and publishing within the same academic circles as Harold Lasswell, Dallas Smythe, and Paul Lazarsfeld. Social, economic, and political factors diminished their contributions to what we now call media effects theory, political economy of communication, and media studies. This article uses feminist standpoint epistemology theory to examine some of these early moments in the history of communication scholarship, to theorize about the consequences of its development, and to suggest the value of future recovery work. « L’esprit mal tourne» : retrouver trois « meres » fondatrices des etudes en communication Resume Le champ des communications etudie a peine les enjeux de genre, en particulier lorsqu’il est question de documenter sa propre historiographie. En consequence, Hortense Powdermaker, Mae Huettig et Helen MacGill Hughes semblent guere determinantes dans le developpement de la recherche en communication a ses debuts dans les annees 1930 a 1960, et ce, bien que ces femmes aient travaille et publie dans les memes milieux universitaires que Harold Lasswell, Dallas Smythe et Paul Lazarsfeld. Des facteurs sociaux, economiques et politiques ont reduit leur apport aux champs que nous appelons aujourd’hui la theorie des effets mediatiques, l’economie politique de la communication et les etudes mediatiques. Cet article utilise la theorie epistemologique feministe du point de vue (feminist standpoint epistemology theory) pour examiner certains de ces premiers moments dans l’histoire de la recherche en communication, pour theoriser a propos des consequences de son developpement et pour suggerer la valeur de futurs travaux de redecouverte. ,,Dreckige Gedanken”: Drei Grundungsmatriarchinnen der Kommunikationswissenschaft neu besehen Das Fach Kommunikationswissenschaft befasst sich eher selten mit Gender-Themen, insbesondere in seiner eigenen Historiografie. Folglich wurden die Arbeiten von Hortense Powdermaker, Mae Huettig und Helen MacGill Hughes kaum als bahnbrechend fur die Entwicklung des Fachs in seiner fruhen Phase der 1930er bis 60er Jahren bewertet, trotz der Tatsache, dass diese Frauen in den Kreisen von Harold Lasswell, Dallas Smythe und Paul Lazarsfeld gearbeitet und publiziert haben. Soziale, okonomische und politische Faktoren beschrankten ihren Beitrag zu den Fachgebieten, die wir nun Medienwirkungstheorie, politische Okonomie der Kommunikation und Medienwissenschaft nennen. Dieser Aufsatz nutzt die feministische epistemologische Theorie, um einige dieser fruhen Momente in der Geschichte der Kommunikationswissenschaft zu untersuchen, uber die Konsequenzen dieser Entwicklung zu theoretisieren und den Wert der zukunftigen Aufarbeitung darzustellen. El Dialogo, el Activismo y el Cambio Social Democratico Resumen Este ensayo provee una descripcion sistematica de varias posiciones sobre el dialogo y las implicancias para el entendimiento del activismo y el cambio social. Describe tres orientaciones hacia el dialogo—colaboracion, cooptacion, y agonia—las cuales son diferenciadas de las presuposiciones acerca de la omnipresencia del dialogo, el rol de la diferencia, y las concepciones de poder. Arguimos a favor de una propuesta multifocal agonistica del dialogo centrada en los asuntos de poder y conflicto en el activismo. Esta perspectiva ilumina una gama amplia de tacticas activistas para el cambio social privilegiando los metodos orientados hacia el consenso. Estos enfoques son ilustrados en 2 estudios de caso etnograficos que destacan la importancia de las teorias del activismo y el dialogo del lego.

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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors provide preliminary evidence of what can be called a cosmopolitan turn in collective memory construction, together with suggestions regarding the associated research lexicon, through analysis of the obituaries published in the elite Israeli daily Haaretz, it illustrates some of the discursive strategies to be used to reframe the past as cosmopolitan memory.
Abstract: The global era presents a challenge for all memory agents for they are now faced with the task of constructing collective memories that maintain new contemporary values, most notably sensitivity to other nations' memories. This article deals with a major question flowing from the aforementioned task: Is it possible to reframe the past as a “cosmopolitan memory” for the purpose of promoting solidarity and peace? The article provides preliminary evidence of what can be called a “cosmopolitan turn” in collective memory construction, together with suggestions regarding the associated research lexicon. Through analysis of the obituaries published in the elite Israeli daily Haaretz, it illustrates some of the discursive strategies to be used to reframe the past as a cosmopolitan memory. Recadrer le passe en tant que souvenir cosmopolite: la rubrique necrologique dans le quotidien israelien Haaretz Resume L’epoque mondiale presente un defi pour les agents de memoire, qui font maintenant face a la tâche de construire des souvenirs collectifs qui soutiennent les nouvelles valeurs contemporaines, tout particulierement la sensibilite envers les souvenirs des autres nations. Cet article aborde un enjeu majeur qui decoule de cette tâche : est-il possible de recadrer le passe comme un « souvenir cosmopolite » afin de promouvoir la solidarite et la paix? L’article offre des traces preliminaires de ce qui pourrait etre appele un « tournant cosmopolite » dans la construction de la memoire collective. Il offre aussi des suggestions quant au vocabulaire de recherche qui y est associe. Par l’analyse de la rubrique necrologique publiee dans le quotidien israelien d’elite Haaretz, l’article illustre certaines des strategies discursives a utiliser pour recadrer le passe comme un souvenir cosmopolite. Mots cles : memoire collective, souvenir cosmopolite, rubrique necrologique, strategies discursives Reframing der Vergangenheit als eine kosmopolite Erinnerung: Traueranzeigen in der israelischen Tageszeitung Haaretz Das globale Zeitalter stellt eine Herausforderung an alle Erinnerungsagenten dar, da es diese mit der Aufgabe konfrontiert, kollektive Erinnerung zu konstruieren, die neue zeitgenossische Werte pflegen, insbesondere die Sensibilitat gegenuber den Erinnerungen anderer Nationen. Dieser Artikel befasst sich mit einer grosen Frage die sich aus der eben erwahnten Aufgabe ergibt: Ist es moglich die Vergangenheit als eine ,,kosmopolite Erinnerung” umzuframen, um Solidaritat und Frieden zu befordern? Diese Artikel bietet vorlaufige Evidenz dafur, was als ,,kosmopolitische Wende” der kollektiven Erinnerungskonstruktion bezeichnet werden kann erganzt um Vorschlage bezuglich eines damit verbundenen Forschungslexikons. Durch die Analyse der Traueranzeigen, die in der elitaren israelischen Tageszeitung Haaretz veroffentlicht werden, erhalt man einen Eindruck von den diskursiven Strategien, die eingesetzt werden konnen, um die Vergangenheit als eine kosmopolite Erinnerung umzuframen. Schlusselbegriffe: kollektive Erinnerung, kosmopolite Erinnerung, Traueranzeigen, diskursive Strategien Redefiniendo el Pasado como una Memoria Cosmopolita: Las Notas Necrologicas en el periodico IsraeliHaaretz Resumen La era global presenta un desafio para todos los agentes de la memoria dado que ellos confrontan ahora la tarea de construccion de las memorias colectivas para mantener los nuevos valores contemporaneos, mas notablemente la sensibilidad hacia las memorias de otras naciones. Este ensayo trata una pregunta mayor fluyendo de la tarea mencionada arriba: Es posible redefinir el pasado como una ’memoria cosmopolita’ con el proposito de promover la solidaridad y la paz? Este escrito provee de evidencia preliminar de los que puede ser llamado la ‘vuelta cosmopolita’ en la construccion de la memoria colectiva, junto a las sugerencias acerca del lexico asociado a la investigacion. A traves de un analisis de los obituarios publicados en el periodico Israeli de elite Haaretz, ilustra algunas de las estrategias discursivas usadas para redefinir el pasado como una memoria cosmopolita. Palabras claves: memoria colectiva, memoria cosmopolita, obituarios, estrategias discursivas

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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that texts invite audiences to take up subject positions, understood as combinations of identity and agency, and they suggest conceptualizing and analyzing the relationship between texts and audiences from the perspective of performativity.
Abstract: Questions of agency in text–audience relations are less studied than other aspects of rhetorical agency. We suggest conceptualizing and analyzing the relationship between texts and audiences from the perspective of performativity, as it has been developed by Judith Butler. Thus, we argue that texts invite audiences to take up subject positions, understood as combinations of identity and agency. Danish diversity management rhetoric functions as an illustrative example; in analyzing this type of rhetoric we show how subjects are called into restrained positions of similarity/difference and thereby demonstrate the explanatory potential of the performative framework. Subsequently, we discuss how the concept of personae may provide a basis for alternatives to the restrictive positioning that currently dominates diversity management rhetoric. Geographie communicationnelle : un pont entre des disciplines Nous en appelons a une restructuration fondamentale des paradigmes de recherche en geographie et en etudes de la communication et des medias pour creer un pont entre des enjeux cruciaux de ces deux disciplines.Cette entreprise reagit aux changements historiques contemporains : mobilite mediee et mediatisee, convergence technologique, interactivite, nouvelles interfaces de communication et l’automatisation de la surveillance.Une preoccupation de longue date envers un ensemble d’enjeux que nous appelons representations, textures, structures et connexions offre une base pour ce pont interdisciplinaire.L’integration de ces preoccupations produirait un champ semi-autonome, qui se manifeste par des collaborations entre les geographes et les theoriciens des medias. Mots cles : geographie de la communication, recherche interdisciplinaire, lieu, espace, mediatisation Doing Diversity: Text-Publikumsagentschaft und rhetorische Alternativen Fragen der Agentschaft in Text-Publikumsbeziehungen werden seltener als andere Aspekte rhetorischer Agentschaft untersucht. Wir schlagen deshalb eine Konzeptualisierung und Analyse der Beziehung zwischen Texten und Publika aus der Perspektive der Performativitatnach Judith Butler vor. In diesem Zuge argumentieren wir, dass Texte das Publikum einladen eine subjektive Position einzunehmen, die als Kombinationen aus Identitat und Agentschaftverstanden werden kann. Die Rhetorik des danischen Diversity-Management fungiert als illustratives Beispiel. Mit der Analyse dieser Art von Rhetorik zeigen wir, wie Subjekten erzwungene Standpunkte von Ahnlichkeit/Unterschied auferlegt werden und wie der performative Ansatz sein erklarerisches Potential entfaltet. Anschliesend diskutieren wir das Personakonzept als eine Basis fur Alternativen zu diesen begrenzten Standpunkten, die derzeit die Rhetorik des Diversity-Managements bestimmen. Schlusselbegriffe: rhetorische Agentschaft, Identitat, Performativitat, Diversity-Management, Diversity-Kommunikation Creando Diversidad: La Agencia Texto-audiencia y las Alternativas Retoricas Sine Just&TanjaChristiansen Resumen: Las preguntas sobre la agencia en las relaciones entre el texto y la audiencia son menos estudiadas que otros aspectos de la agencia retorica. Sugerimos conceptualizar y analizar la relacion entre los textos y las audiencias desde la perspectiva de la performance, como ha sido desarrollada por Judith Butler. Asi, arguimos que los textos invitan a las audiencias a tomar la posicion del sujeto, entendido como combinaciones de identidad y agencia. La retorica de manejo de la diversidad Danesa funciona como un ejemplo ilustrativo; al analizar este tipo de retorica mostramos como los sujetos son llamados a posiciones medidas por su similitud/diferenciay de ese modo demostramos el potencial explanatorio del marco de la performance. Subsecuentemente, discutimos como el concepto del personaje puede proveer una base para alternativas al posicionamiento restrictivo que domina corrientemente la retorica del manejo de la diversidad. Palabras Claves: Agencia retorica, Identidad, Performance, Manejo de la diversidad, Comunicacion diversa

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TL;DR: The authors advocates for the interdisciplinary use of critical race theory and critical rhetorical theory in communication to analyze racialized language and to evaluate the cultural and political significance of new racial discourses in the United States.
Abstract: This article advocates for the interdisciplinary use of critical race theory and critical rhetorical theory in communication to analyze racialized language and to evaluate the cultural and political significance of new racial discourses in the United States The article examines the dissenting opinion in Plessy v Ferguson (1896) and the congressional hearings on the Tiger Woods Bill (1997), two key instances of public debate over multiracial categories The article then turns to Tiger Woods' term “Cablinasian” and the possibilities of an alternative and contestory multiracial nomenclature, shifting the critique away from Woods' celebrity or politics and toward the legal history and rhetorical potential of the word itself

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TL;DR: A case is made here for further research into the implications digitized communication technologies and platforms and their users have on the explanatory and predictive nature of traditional diffusion as well as their impact on social networks bound by strong and weak ties.
Abstract: This article proposes updated approaches to 2 key areas of communication research: diffusion of innovations and fragmentation modeling. Exploring a possible gap in node modeling may provide insights for updated approaches to these and other areas of communication research. A case is made here for further research into the implications digitized communication technologies and platforms and their users have on the explanatory and predictive nature of traditional diffusion as well as their impact on social networks bound by strong and weak ties. Against the backdrops of network theory—particularly strong and weak ties—and a related fragmentation model, this article urges scholarly exploration of updated network behaviors and their possible influence on at least one related area of communication research.

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TL;DR: This study aims to understand how lay people living with HIV understand meanings of health and how the biomedical narrative enters their subjective interpretations, derived from in-depth interviews with HIV+ people in India.
Abstract: The biomedical model serves as a grand narrative shaping the dominant discourse on health and illness. The goal of this study is to understand how lay people living with HIV understand meanings of health and how the biomedical narrative enters their subjective interpretations. Findings were derived from in-depth interviews with HIV+ people in India, who had access to modern medicine. While deviations from the biomedical model were found, for the most part, participants reinforced dominant understandings; they were preoccupied with controlling risk, yet struggled to make sense of contradictions between scientific fact and personal experience. The anthropological concept of the ‘‘work of culture’’ is used to understand the loss of alternative cultural frames and the implications of this loss. The past few decades have seen numerous studies examining the experiences and perceptions of people living with HIV/AIDS across different cultures—in particular, those in the non-Western world—with a view toward understanding the various ways in which people make sense of the disease. Nzioka (1996), for example, collected ethnographic data from 29 heterosexual HIV positive patients at treatment clinics in Nairobi to examine how risk is socially constructed against a backdrop of cultural beliefs and how such perceptions inform lay experiences of sex. Findings showed that participants understood HIV/AIDS as a ‘‘normal’’ illness resulting from blood mixtures, which could be cured through decontamination rituals. They also believed that the risk of HIV infection increased with the number of times one had sexual intercourse and the amount of seminal fluid exchanged and that reversing sexual positions may prevent against infection. The author concluded that while people were often misinformed about the cause of the disease, their perceptions were congruous with medical science. In another example, Shefer et al. (2002) conducted focus groups with South African communities; they found that much of the discourse centered on alternative prevention and intervention strategies for sexually transmitted infections