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Technological, economic and social trends are changing the context of communication policy. Determining the precise beginning of communication policy-making and the attendant idea of researching it systematically is difficult. It is often said to have begun with the emergence of telegraphy, telephony and wireless communication and not with the traditional mass media. Convergence, liberalization, commercialization, new media (e.g. the Internet and mobile communication), audience fragmentation and globalization are only a few of the more notable terms that describe this change. The question of how communication policy copes with these changes is not only of interest to academics but also of the highest societal relevance. Scholars are well aware of current and imminent changes; options for reforming communication policies and regulation are the subject of lively debates in the field. Communication policy research evolved from the outset as a multi-disciplinary field and domain of various academic disciplines from sociology and political science to law and economics, resulting in the coverage of a myriad of multi-faceted topics. The choice of subjects in communication policy research is affected by sociocultural, political, economic and technological forces that determine the overall framework for communication policy and regulation as well as by the many regulatory objectives in communication. Trends in communication policy research comprises the very latest developments in the theories, methods, and practical applications of the dynamic field of communication policy research. It aims to revive and foster such a discussion by offering an overview of and insights into current and future areas of inquiry in this contested policy field. The introductory chapter by Natascha Just and Manuel Puppis (Universität Zürich) looks into the history of

Linking theory to visual communication -- Historical research -- Who: research on the sources of visual communication -- Says what: research on the content in visual communication -- To whom: research on the audiences in visual communication -- In which channel: research on media used in visual communication -- With what effect I: research on cognitive effects of visual -- With what effect II: research on attitudinal effects of visual -- With what effect III: research on behavioral effects of visual -- Conclusions

This monograph examines the past, present, and potential relationship between American pragmatism and communication research. The contributors provide a bridge between communication studies and philosophy, subjects often developed somewhat in isolation fr

Academic communication skills or academic literacies have been, since their inception after the advent of democracy in South Africa in 1994, been aimed at assisting to achieve the broader goals of a restorative democracy that seeks make felt change in a new society. One is these is ensuring that higher education is demystified, massified and made accessible to all; that students admitted to higher education from the heterogeneous South African reality are brought on par on resumption of this stage through a scaffolding intervention that resulted in varied academic literacies and communication skills' modules in various institutions. If students could resume their tertiary endeavors on par, so can healthy the throughput rate be ensured if attained skills enable them not only to succeed but flourish in higher education. This discussion briefly explores the role of academic literacy by interrogation its beginnings and rationale as well identifying areas it has fallen short in and need to work on intensively such that this module makes the felt change in students' lives it is meant to. It concludes by reiterating that this is work in progress in a society, education system and all in a perpetual state of flux and that lecturers who are the designated agents of change in this area, can rise to this challenge if they are continuously sensitized and equipped to rise to it.

SINCE 1968 INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM HAS GROWN CONSIDERABLY, DESPITE GOVERNMENTS' EFFORT TO CURB IT. PART OF THIS FAILURE IS ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE INADEQUATE CONTRIBUTION OF ACADEMIC RESEARCH TO GOVERNMENT POLICY MAKING ON TERRORISM. THIS ARTICLE IDENTIFIES THREE PROBLEM AREAS THAT HINDER ACADEMIC INFLUENCE ON GOVERNMENT POLICY MAKING IN THIS FIELD. IT STATES THAT PREFERENCE SHOULD BE GIVEN TO SUBJECTS OF STUDY WHERE THE ACADEMIC HAS A RELATIVE ADVANTAGE OVER GOVERNMENT IN DEPTH AND RIGOR. IT IS ALSO SUGGESTED THAT ACADEMIC INFLUENCE ON GOVERNMENT DECISION MAKING WOULD BE SERVED BEST BY AN EXCHANGE OF PEOPLE BETWEEN ACADEMIA AND GOVERNMENT.

Watch the VIDEO. In the present academic world, excellence is often defined, proved and traded by using the level – both quantitative and qualitative – of scholarly research and publications realized by the staff of higher education institutions. This vision is grounded into the North American perception of academic quality, which was willingly adopted and applied by the top-ranking institutions, consequently becoming standard currency in today's globalized academic marketplace. Although this vision has undisputable merits – especially in what concerns the capacity to clearly measure academic quality by using the number and ranking of scholarly publications, it may not always be adopted and recognized as the most desirable yardstick of organizational excellence by some stakeholders of higher education institutions. To investigate the relationship between academic excellence and scholarly research and publications, from the perspective of various stakeholder groups, we initiated in May 2018 a research project centered around the evolving research strategy of Montpellier Business School (MBS), located in the south of France. Founded in 1897, in the last 15 years MBS has known an impressive growth in the number of students and professors. Presently accredited by both the French higher education bodies, and by international institutions (AACSB, EPAS, AMBA), MBS has followed a distinctive strategy that led to a position of leader in the French market of apprentice students – students that follow their studies while working in (and being paid by) companies. In parallel, to achieve the quality standards required by national and – especially – international accreditations, the school introduced an ambitious program of increasing the number and quality of academic publications. At present, although academic quality is holistically defined and measured using three indicators (i.e., pedagogical quality, research quality, and general service), the evaluation of professors' contribution is skewed towards research excellence. We collected primary data through face-to-face semi-structured interviews with a sample of 20 people, from each of the following categories of stakeholders: students, professors, companies. To avoid "politically correct answers" the discussions took place in informal settings, without revealing the aim of the project. The answers and the notes regarding the "non-verbal" behavior displayed by interviewees were written down immediately after the discussion, and then manually coded by the researcher, using open and axial coding techniques. The results indicate, as expected, that the perception of stakeholders regarding this topic depends on their specific interests and profiles. Although, in principle, all stakeholders outlined the importance of scholarly research and publications for knowledge creation, professional evolution, and theoretical understanding, from a practical perspective, many interviewees – especially company representatives and students – deplored the strong focus on theoretical research that has little relevance for their professional development and applications. Among some thought-provoking findings is the opinion that a good researcher is often a poor teacher, in direct relation to the level of his/her publications' ranking, and that scholarly research and publication increasingly functions as a closed hierarchical system that has lost touch with the practical questions and needs of company managers and students.

This informal collection is designed to further a dialogue about the relationship between communications research and policy making. In particular it focuses on the impact of academic research on communications policy, and whether, and how, policy draws upon research (if at all). As quasi-editors (and commissioners of these essays) we have been highlighting various assumptions in the process. These assumptions mark every stage of the question (of the relevance of what academics do to what policy makers do). They mark an idealized mode of thinking about policy-making—an idealized mode sometimes articulated in legislation or judicial decision (or agency practice). The assumptions include the following: Good and democratic policy making should be based upon an informed deliberation, and include relevant research findings. Policy making involves problem solving, guided change and conflict resolution. Communications research should be (designed to be) an important input into policy making. Policy makers have an appetite for (or can be compelled to have an appetite) research There is room for "disinterested research" and possibly academic research has that quality Academic research has a kind of methodological purity or excellence or at least strives for that There is a disconnect between the demand and supply of policy relevant communications research. In part, this is a problem of access to research and data (although with the Internet, this has become more a "translation" and "communications" problem, i.e. researchers fail to communicate timely and for a broader audience). In part, the disconnect is a result of the difference between academic research and policymaking with regard to: Incentives (e.g. tenure/peer review vs political viability) Timetables (e.g. journal deadlines vs immediately) Format preferences (lengthy vs succinct) Agenda and relevance (old vs new challenges and technologies) Quality and validity standards (neutral vs political) Information about demand and supply In part, the problem is related with the ignorance and capacity of policy makers vis-à-vis using research. What this effort hopes to do is to deepen and challenge these assumptions, as they relate to communications research and policy.