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Summary
Public diplomacy efforts of nation states and cities within these states inevitably develop alongside another, giving rise to joint attributions regarding these entities as actors in global affairs, though also potentially intensifying perceptions of their independent and even contradictory roles in international diplomacy. Variations in attributions of cities and states as more or less conjoint actors can be expected to affect both the visibility of key actors and the formation of attitudes and behaviours towards these actors in international affairs. In this essay I explore how and in what dimensions such variations can be expected to occur, applying recent thinking on the constitution of social actors to this emerging debate in public and city diplomacy scholarship and proposing a conceptual framework that distinguishes joint 'selfhood' and 'actorhood' as key dimensions of joint city/state attributions. The essay includes a discussion of the implications of this conceptualisation for public and city diplomacy.

AbstractIn this study we empirically map the field of media and communication studies (MCS) by focusing on relationships between cognitive dimensions (such as research topics and approaches) on the one hand and material dimensions (such as funding and institutionalization) on the other. Our analysis, which focuses on the field of MCS in Switzerland, identifies two clusters of research institutions representing distinct strands of research in the field. Results show how these two strands differ in terms of their resource base, institutional positioning and recognition, teaching and transfer activities, as well as activities of scientific production. Similarities and differences in these dimensions serve to explain the general evolution of the field.

Diana Ingenhoff und Alexander Buhmann führen in den aktuellen Forschungs- und Wissensstand zu Public Diplomacy und insbesondere zu Landesimages ein. Sie reflektieren dabei Fragen der Messung, Entstehung und Gestaltung von Landesimages und geben Antworten auf die folgenden Leitfragen: · Welche Aspekte/Dimensionen eines Landes sind wichtig für sein Image und wie entsteht es? · Welches sind die für die Imagebildung wirksamen Kanäle? · Welche Handlungsrelevanz und Wirksamkeit hat das Landesimage? · Wie lässt sich die Wirksamkeit von Public Diplomacy und Landeskommunikation messen und evaluieren? Das Buch dokumentiert und diskutiert die facettenreiche Literatur zu Landesimages und Public Diplomacy. Es enthält zahlreiche Abbildungen, ein Glossar und ein Register und fördert damit den Dialog zwischen Forschung und Praxis.

Digital microwork consists of remote and highly decontextualized labor that is increasingly governed by algorithms. The anonymity and granularity of such work is likely to cause alienation among workers. To date, we know little about how workers reconcile such potential feelings of alienation with their simultaneous commitment to the platform. Based on a longitudinal survey of 460 workers on a large microworking platform and a combination of quantitative and qualitative analyses, we show that (1) alienation is present in digital microwork. However, our study also finds that (2) workers' commitment to the platform over time may alter their subjective perceptions of alienation. Drawing from qualitative statements, we show (3) how workers perform identity work that might help reconcile feelings of alienation with simultaneous platform commitment. Our findings contribute to solving the paradox of worker commitment to precarious platform labor, which is an issue frequently raised in the digital labor literature.

With spindoctoring, publicity seeking stunts and evidence of mal-practice, public relations is easily associated with the development of post-truth society. The elevation of bullshit as political coinage presents a challenge for the rational public debate which the public relations profession at large should have an interest in maintaining. In this introduction, we briefly highlight some of these challenges for public relations. We point to how papers in the special section tie into these challenges, by for instance, helping to understand the construction of truth, how to construct a defense for legitimate public relations and engage with publics, as well as to build a professional practice through developing and measuring communication.