Mapping mental models of science communication: How academics in Germany, Austria and Switzerland understand and practice science communication

The mental models that individual scholars have of science communication – how it works, what it is supposed to achieve and so on – shape the way these academics actually communicate to the public. But these mental models, and their prevalence among scholars, have rarely been analysed. Drawing on a large-scale, representative web survey of academics at universities in Germany, Austria and Switzerland ( n = 15,778) from 2020, we identify three mental models that are prevalent among scholars, and that correspond to conceptual models found in science communication theory: ‘Public Understanding of Science’, ‘Public Engagement with Science’ and ‘Strategic Science Communication’. The results suggest that the ‘Strategic Science Communication’ model is particularly prevalent among academics in precarious employment and female scholars. Extrinsically motivated academics, that is, those under pressure to win grants, also seem to use science communication more strategically. The ‘Public Engagement’ model is prevalent among older and female scholars, while ‘Public Understanding’ is particularly prevalent among scholars who find their work especially meaningful. Findings also reveal that academics’ mental models largely align with the way they practice science communication.

Linguistic Mathematical Relationships Saved or Lost in Translating Texts: Extension of the Statistical Theory of Translation and Its Application to the New Testament

The purpose of the paper is to extend the general theory of translation to texts written in the same language and show some possible applications. The main result shows that the mutual mathematical relationships of texts in a language have been saved or lost in translating them into another language and consequently texts have been mathematically distorted. To make objective comparisons, we have defined a “likeness index”—based on probability and communication theory of noisy binary digital channels-and have shown that it can reveal similarities and differences of texts. We have applied the extended theory to the New Testament translations and have assessed how much the mutual mathematical relationships present in the original Greek texts have been saved or lost in 36 languages. To avoid the inaccuracy, due to the small sample size from which the input data (regression lines) are calculated, we have adopted a “renormalization” based on Monte Carlo simulations whose results we consider as “experimental”. In general, we have found that in many languages/translations the original linguistic relationships have been lost and texts mathematically distorted. The theory can be applied to texts translated by machines. Because the theory deals with linear regression lines, the concepts of signal-to-noise-ratio and likenss index can be applied any time a scientific/technical problem involves two or more linear regression lines, therefore it is not limited to linguistic variables but it is universal.

Extremality of Disordered Phase of λ-Model on Cayley Trees

In this paper, we consider the λ-model for an arbitrary-order Cayley tree that has a disordered phase. Such a phase corresponds to a splitting Gibbs measure with free boundary conditions. In communication theory, such a measure appears naturally, and its extremality is related to the solvability of the non-reconstruction problem. In general, the disordered phase is not extreme; hence, it is natural to find a condition for their extremality. In the present paper, we present certain conditions for the extremality of the disordered phase of the λ-model.

Communicating to Tourists During and Post-Covid-19: What Do They Want (Need) to Hear?

Swiss tourism relies heavily on international clientele to book rooms and purchase goods and services. However, from March to June 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, travel and subsequent bookings slowed and, in some cases, stopped altogether. Based predominantly on Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT), this paper investigates Swiss hotels’ messages on their official Facebook pages and the SCCT strategies they employed during this crisis. The findings from 48 independent four- and five-star hotels show that the Victimage strategy was the most often employed when communicating about the COVID-19 pandemic in general. Further, most hotels published positive messages during this period (68%) and strongly emphasized their roles as victims at this time. Only 5% of the messages posted were negative messages. Hotels ‘blamed’ the government and the sanitary measures for their closing or reduced services. The findings presented here contribute to the literature by offering a pattern of crisis responses from Swiss hotels in the early period of the pandemic. These results are currently being updated with the messages communicated in the 12 months since the beginning of this study. The findings of this crisis communication during an early stage of the pandemic will be used to make concrete recommendations for the strategies that should be implemented in the future if the COVID-19 crisis continues or when faced with other crises.

ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS ON THE MEANING OF A CRITICAL APPROACH TO FEMINISTIC THEORY

A critical theory of communication (or economics, or politics) needs to involve a critique of society as a whole. Critical communication theory deals with a variety of relevant topics, including language, organizational structure, interpersonal relations, and the media. Communication itself according to a critical perspective is a result of the pressure (tension) between individual creativity in providing a framework for messages and social constraints. Development in the millennium era The Millennium Development Goals (MDG's) have one of the goals of which is towards the equal partnership of men and women by increasing justice and gender equality in every development sector. However, the problem of gender inequality is indicated by the low quality of life and the role of women, the high number of acts of violence against women as measured by the Gender-related Development Index (GDI) and the Gender Empowerment Index (GEM). The research method used is qualitative in a literature review approach

Da’wah as an Alternative Approach in Covid-19 Health Protocol Campaign

<p class="abstrak">This research aims to elaborate the communication strategy of Islamic Religious Counselors because communication strategies are an important aspect in the process of effectively transferring messages to the audiences. Islamic Religious Counselors are civil servant preachers who carry the mandate from the government to campaign for the Covid-19 health protocols through the da’wah (Islamic communication/propagation) approach. Da’wah and health materials are two different materials that pose challenges for Islamic Religious Counselors, especially in the communication patterns used. The research method used qualitative approach and multi-track communication theory by Thomas Tufte and Paolo Mefalopulos. Data were collected through structured interviews with six informants of Islamic Religious Counselor in Kalasan District and non-participant observations on each of their da’wah activities. The results showed that the preaching activities include recitation, socialization, social service and building relationships carried out with a multi-track communication strategy through a combination of a dialogic and one-step flow communication. Da’wah through a multi-track communication strategy has an impact on the affective side of religious congregations including attitudes, knowledge and awareness. Actualization of Islamic Religious Counselor is a viable alternative approach of the government and community in dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic.</p><p class="abstrak" align="left"><em>Penyuluh Agama Islam adalah pendakwah aparatur sipil negara yang mengemban amanah dari pemerintah untuk dapat mengampanyekan protokol kesehatan Covid-19 melalui pendekatan dakwah. Materi dakwah dan kesehatan merupakan dua materi berbeda yang menimbulkan tantangan bagi Penyuluh Agama Islam khususnya dalam pola komunikasi yang digunakan. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengelaborasi strategi komunikasi Penyuluh Agama Islam karena strategi komunikasi merupakan aspek penting dalam proses transfer pesan kepada khalayak secara efektif. Metode penelitian menggunakan pendekatan kualitatif dan menggunakan teori komunikasi multi-track dari Thomas Tufte dan Paolo Mefalopulos. Data dikumpulkan melalui wawancara terstruktur dengan informan berjumlah 6 orang Penyuluh Agama Islam di Kecamatan Kalasan dan observasi non-partisipan pada setiap kegiatan dakwah. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa aktivitas dakwah Penyuluh Agama Islam meliputi pengajian, sosialisasi, bakti sosial dan membangun relasi dilakukan dengan strategi komunikasi multi-track melalui kombinasi pendekatan komunikasi dialogis dan pendekatan satu arah. Dakwah melalui strategi komunikasi multi-track berdampak pada sisi afektif jama’ah meliputi sikap, pengetahuan dan kesadaran. Aktualisasi Penyuluh Agama Islam memberikan sebuah kontribusi sebagai alternatif pendekatan pemerintah maupun komunitas dalam menangani bencana Covid-19.</em></p>

Network Analysis and Actors #CancelOmnibusLaw on Twitter Social Media Using Social Network Analysis (SNA)

Omnibus Law is the merging of several different rules into one law. RUU Cipta Kerja is one part of the Omnibus Law that attracts attention because it is considered detrimental to society. This caused a lot of rejection and protests from the society. The protest was held directly in the form of demonstrations in various regions of Indonesia and also in Twitter through #BatalkanOmnibusLaw. The purpose of this research is to find out the analysis of communication networks and identify influential actors in #BatalkanOmnibusLaw on Twitter. This research uses Social Network Analysis (SNA) methods and Computer-mediated Communication theory. Data is collected through Twitter from August 1-October 31, 2020. The process of analyzing and retrieving data is using Netlytic.org and Gephi software. The results showed that there were 62 actors with 153 interactions. Proximity between actors is worth 3, meaning close proximity and easy interaction between actors. The interactions created between actors are very few, uneven ,and the interactions that occur only one way. The #BatalkanOmnibusLaw is centered on ten actors, the most dominant account is @fraksirakyatid. Based on degree centrality analysis, closeness centrality, betweenness centrality, and eigenvector centrality the most influential actors in #BatalkanOmnibusLaw network are @fraksirakyatid and @walhinasional. Keywords: #BatalkanOmnibusLaw, Twitter, Actor, Communication Network

NHS International Hospital Branding Image Strategy Through Integrated Marketing Communication

This article results from research on the brand image strategy carried out by the National Hospital Surabaya (NHS) through integrated marketing communications. This study is on health services bases in the community currently entering the industrial and business era. The main problem arises in-hospital services, which have developed into an industry and are profit-oriented. This problem puts pressure on hospital managers and owners, especially on the cost dimension in private hospitals. Private hospitals must continue to improve management capabilities in carrying out hospital operations with good quality standards to the best compared to other hospitals. The research uses a case study research method with a qualitative approach. Data collection and analysis techniques use observation and in-depth interviews so that they can be analyzed exploratively. The results of this study are the first are there are many reasons why the marketing department of NHS adopts Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) in their sales strategy. It also happens in the healthcare industry, namely hospitals. One of the reasons that become the basis is that marketers understand and recognize strategies integrating into various communication functions rather than running these communication functions alone. Second, marketing communication theory becomes the rationale for processing data and analyzing the phenomenon of problems regarding strategic concepts in policy determination to the direction of marketing communication strategies carried out by NHS hospitals. This research concludes that the main problem arises in hospital services, which have developed into an industry and are profit-oriented. Strategic management skills will become more critical as pressure increases to find future revenue and growth opportunities. These opportunities will come through various combinations of new healthcare products and services, increasing penetration into high-priority market segments, or accessing new markets that are not serving currently.

Komunikasi Krisis Eiger dan Tantangan Perbaikan Reputasi di Era Digital

Surat Keberatan yang dibuat oleh Eiger justru menjadi sebuah boomerang ketika surat tersebut diunggah oleh seorang Youtuber melalui akun Twitternya @duniadian hingga menjadi trending topic yang kemudian memicu reaksi doxing yang dilontarkan oleh warganet dan memunculkan sebuah krisis bagi Eiger yang merupakan sebuah produsen brand ternama yang sebelumnya mempunyai reputasi yang baik. Dengan menggunakan metode kualitatif deskriptif, penelitian ini mencoba untuk mengidentifikasi dan menjelaskan bagaimana Public Relations dari Eiger menangani krisis tersebut dengan menggunakan strategi tanggap krisis dalam konsep Situational Crisis Communication Theory dan mencoba mengembalikan reputasi baiknya dengan menggunakan konsep Image Repair Theory.