Institute for Comparative Media and Communication Studies

The Bacterial Ghost (BG) platform technology is an innovative system for vaccine, drug or active substance delivery and for technical applications in white biotechnology. BGs are cell envelopes derived from Gram-negative bacteria. BGs are devoid of all cytoplasmic content but have a preserved cellular morphology including all cell surface structures. Using BGs as delivery vehicles for subunit or DNA-vaccines the particle structure and surface properties of BGs are targeting the carrier itself to primary antigen-presenting cells. Furthermore, BGs exhibit intrinsic adjuvant properties and trigger an enhanced humoral and cellular immune response to the target antigen. Multiple antigens of the native BG envelope and recombinant protein or DNA antigens can be combined in a single type of BG. Antigens can be presented on the inner or outer membrane of the BG as well as in the periplasm that is sealed during BG formation. Drugs or supplements can also be loaded to the internal lumen or periplasmic space of the carrier. BGs are produced by batch fermentation with subsequent product recovery and purification via tangential flow filtration. For safety reasons all residual bacterial DNA is inactivated during the BG production process by the use of staphylococcal nuclease A and/or the treatment with β-propiolactone. After purification BGs can be stored long-term at ambient room temperature as lyophilized product. The production cycle from the inoculation of the pre-culture to the purified BG concentrate ready for lyophilization does not take longer than a day and thus meets modern criteria of rapid vaccine production rather than keeping large stocks of vaccines. The broad spectrum of possible applications in combination with the comparably low production costs make the BG platform technology a safe and sophisticated product for the targeted delivery of vaccines and active agents as well as carrier of immobilized enzymes for applications in white biotechnology.

Networked technologies are a key tool for today’s refugees; not only on the move but also upon arrival in their new surroundings. Where mobile Internet access is affordable and infrastructures are stable, as in Europe’s metropoles, refugees can use smartphones to cope with everyday challenges. The paper presents findings from a qualitative interview study with Syrian refugees who recently settled in Vienna, Austria. The study implemented a three-fold methodology, combining face-to-face interviews, WhatsApp chats, and participant research. Results are presented from a localized appropriation notion (the act of making use of local specific media environment when drawing a media technology into one’s life) identifying practices in the contexts of: place-making and geographical orientation; information access and self-help; language learning and translation; and ‘doing family’. Hence, refugees are both emotionally attached to and technically dependent on their devices. The article concludes that smartphones hold an untapped potential for integration processes.

Online disinformation poses a challenge to democratic societies and has become a prominent issue on the research and political agenda. While many analyses focus on patterns of distribution and reach of disinformation, this article contributes to the analysis of strategies to counter disinformation. Employing a governance perspective, it provides a descriptive analysis of the emerging mix of governance responses in the European system of multilevel governance and on the continuum between market and state. Results of the analysis show that the proliferation of disinformation on social media has developed from a socio-technical mix of platform design, algorithms, human factors and political and commercial incentives. Actors and technologies involved provide a starting point for targets of governance within an accountability network. In practice, national governance responses are uneven across the EU, but individual countries pressing for stronger regulation of internet platforms and a weakening of liability protections. In addition, the European Commission has intensified its efforts to combat disinformation and put additional pressure on platforms to take action and provide some level of transparency. However, clarity about the effects of these measures is blurred by contradicting evidence and barriers for research to access platforms and relevant data.

The influence of temperature on the embryonic development of three European cyprinid fishes, Abramis brama, Chalcalburnus chalcoides mento and Vimba vimba , was studied with respect to hatching efficiency and the functional relationship with the duration of development. The functional dependance of the duration of development on temperature is well described by a power function with a correcting constant for temperature. Comparison with published data for other cyprinids shows that the response of embryos to temperature, together with the various temperature controlled responses of adult fishes, is a valuable aid for the ecological characterization of the different species.

Following Hartmann and Apaolaza-Ibáñez’ [(2009). Green advertising revisited. Conditioning virtual nature experiences. International Journal of Advertising, 28(4), 715–739] approach, this experimental study compares the effects of three types of green print ads: a non-green ad, a functional green ad promoting environmental product attributes, and a combined nature ad featuring a pleasant nature image in addition to functional attributes. We extend prior research by simultaneously testing moderating and mediating mechanisms to explain brand attitudes and purchase intention. Using a quota sample of 456 consumers, findings suggest that the functional ad enhances perceptions of environmental brand benefits, which positively affect purchase intention partially mediated by brand attitudes. The combined nature ad, by contrast, activates an additional emotional process of virtually experiencing nature which positively influences brand attitudes and purchase intention beyond perceptions of environmental brand benefits. The effects of the combined nature ad are even stronger for highly involved consumers.

The article explores training programs in higher education with regard to data journalism from a multi-national perspective. By carrying out a comparative analysis in six European countries (Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Italy, Poland, and the United Kingdom), it covers different models of media systems and journalistic cultures envisaged by Hallin and Mancini. Based on a desk review and in-depth interviews with instructors of data journalism in each country, the article identifies different approaches to the way data journalism is taught. In Europe, such programs are offered by four types of organizations: academic, vocational, professional, and civic. The role played by those organizations can be explained as a result of the peculiarities of national media systems. But there are also commonalities, for example, non-academic institutions (such as the European Journalism Center or the Center for Investigative Journalism) and major international news outlets (such as The Guardian and The New York Times) seem to take over a leading role in all of the analyzed countries. Generally speaking, data journalism education appears to be a very young discipline that frequently neglects fundamental journalistic topics such as ethical issues, transparency, accountability, and responsiveness although they are crucial in a journalistic field as sophisticated tools to reveal hidden aspects of reality.

In outcome based learning, learning outcomes (knowledge, skills and competences) to be achieved by learners are in the focal point of the learning process. All educational activities and resources need to be related to the intended learning outcomes of a learning module or course, in order to assist the learners in successfully achieving the intended learning outcomes at the end of the learning experience. Outcome based assessment means that the assessment process must be aligned with the learning outcomes. This means that it should support the learners in their progress (formative assessment) and validate the achievement of the intended learning outcomes at the end of the process (summative assessment). It also means that the assessment process should be adapted depending on the kind of outcomes that it is aimed to appraise. This paper presents an insight into the current state of outcome based learning within Europe and proposes a unified conceptual model for outcome based assessment, shaping a theoretical framework for the integration of learning outcomes, assessment and units of learning as key concepts. An application scenario is finally described to illustrate the application of the model.

Social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter have become major objects of criticism for reasons such as privacy violations, anticompetitive practices, and interference in public elections. Some of these problems have been associated with algorithms, but the roles that algorithms play in the emergence of different harms have not yet been systematically explored. This article contributes to closing this research gap with an investigation of the link between algorithms and harms on social media platforms. Evidence of harms involving social media algorithms was collected from media reports and academic papers within a two-year timeframe from 2018 to 2019, covering Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter. Harms with similar casual mechanisms were grouped together to inductively develop a typology of algorithmic harm based on the mechanisms involved in their emergence: (1) algorithmic errors, undesirable, or disturbing selections; (2) manipulation by users to achieve algorithmic outputs to harass other users or disrupt public discourse; (3) algorithmic reinforcement of pre-existing harms and inequalities in society; (4) enablement of harmful practices that are opaque and discriminatory; and (5) strengthening of platform power over users, markets, and society. Although the analysis emphasizes the role of algorithms as a cause of online harms, it also demonstrates that harms do not arise from the application of algorithms alone. Instead, harms can be best conceived of as socio-technical assemblages, composed of the use and design of algorithms, platform design, commercial interests, social practices, and context. The article concludes with reflections on possible governance interventions in response to identified socio-technical mechanisms of harm. Notably, while algorithmic errors may be fixed by platforms themselves, growing platform power calls for external oversight.

The COVID-19 pandemic caught societies worldwide unprepared in 2020. In Austria, after a lockdown was decreed on 16 March 2020, educational institutions had to switch to a patched-up distance learning approach, which has been largely maintained to date. This article delivers empirical insights from an interdisciplinary mixed-methods research study that investigated university students’ perceptions of and experiences with distance learning as well as their educational (home) spaces during the pandemic in Innsbruck, Austria. It combines results from a quantitative survey conducted with 2742 students in early 2021 with a qualitative multi-method and longitudinal research study that accompanied 98 students throughout four data-collection phases in 2020. Results show a significant improvement since spring 2020 with both teachers and learners adjusting to the distance learning formats and the use of digital tools, yet students urgently desired a return to face-to-face teaching and university life, particularly for its social benefits. Strikingly, more than half of the participants wanted to maintain the option of overall distance education after the pandemic. Based on the perspectives of students, it is appropriate to demand significant changes in post-pandemic education adapted to the era of the post-digital, for which this article gives short-term as well as medium-term recommendations.

Smartphones are increasingly used to advance mobile media methods. The devices’ capabilities to automatically log behavioural data as well as the integration of this log data into qualitative interviews for elicitation purposes promise increased validity. The paper argues that despite recent efforts in mixed methods, the methodological potential of the personalized user interfaces of smartphones has been overlooked. As these smartphone interfaces are the result of continuous personalization processes, they can be seen as snapshots of the phone’s current use. Thus, this form of data should have strong explanatory powers for understanding the related mobile media practices. The paper discusses the implications of this interface-based approach with two example studies where smartphone interfaces were integrated into qualitative interviews. It concludes that the approach is a useful addition to existing mobile media methods and enforces the notion that researchers need to discover new forms of data.

Today democracy is under attack and there are many points in which it is weak and vulnerable to those attacks. In almost every democracy citizens are losing confidence and trust in parties and in g...

By focusing on journalistic YouTubers, this interview study investigates journalism on social media and how new digital actors on the periphery of journalism complement or compete with newsroom journalism. More specifically, the study examines journalistic YouTubers’ motivations and role orientations, work process perceptions in relation to network media logic and the modernization of journalism, and professionalization experiences on YouTube. Interviews with 16 journalistic YouTubers in Germany within and without the public broadcasting network funk reveal that most interviewees perceive themselves as journalistic actors to some extent. They identify the most with monitorial role orientations, striving to disseminate information, contribute to opinion formation, and enhance public participation. Moreover, they believe that their work contributes to the modernization of journalism by pushing journalism towards younger target groups, entertaining presentation styles, and a strong focus on audience interactions. Finally, funk YouTubers are incorporated into professional editorial structures and must follow qualitative and quantitative success criteria. In sum, our findings reveal a normalized revolution” (Klotz, R. J. 2019. “Deleveraging Creative Capital: A Decade of YouTube Campaigning.” International Journal of E-Politics 10 (1): 1–11): while public broadcasters benefit from young YouTubers acting as a gateway to a younger audience, the YouTubers integrated in the funk network profit from the resources and professional standards of media organizations.

While citizen journalists hope to bring new impulses to mass media performance, it is often asked whether they are adequately trained for the production of “newsworthy” stories. This paper focuses on educational aspects of citizen journalism, which, to date, have largely been disregarded by empirical research. A comparative analytical design illustrates the different ways in which citizen journalists acquire and develop the skills that are necessary to undertake journalistic activities in the different journalism cultures throughout Europe. The authors carried out a multi-national analysis in six European countries (United Kingdom, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, and Poland). In each country, an extensive desk study helped to map the field of citizen journalism and highlight the most relevant examples. Semi-structured interviews with 54 practitioners in the field (representing different types of citizen journalism) made it possible to identify the alternative strategies that citizen journalists employ to prepare themselves for news production initiatives. The research demonstrates that the educational backgrounds of citizen journalists display differences as well as similarities—both within and across journalism cultures. While some of the actors in the field have a clear idea of what constitutes good journalism (and sometimes even aspire to work in a mainstream media organization), others seem to care little about journalistic standards and have only a vague idea about the identity of the profession. On the basis of these insights, the paper develops a typology of citizen journalists that takes into account both their education and their journalistic scope.

The aim of this article is to interpret post-Soviet political change in Central Asia from the perspective of stability versus change of political values, specifically how support for democracy and personal freedoms, acceptance of authoritarianism and autocracy, and the emphasis on self-expression values or survival values have changed or remained stable over time, and how this has fueled the dynamics of post-Soviet political transition. We analyze the paths, vectors, and dynamics of political transformation in Central Asian states and explore how democratic transition or consolidation of autocratic rule is associated with the political culture of the populations of these states and their political values, including their attitudes toward different and alternative political regimes, the importance of free and fair elections, the significance of basic human freedoms and rights, institutional trust, and different levels of political identities. We begin from reviewing the paths of transformation in all five post-Soviet Central Asian republics using the Polity IV and V-Dem indexes of political regime. In the second part of the article, we use the data from the World Values Survey to analyze the structure and the status of the political culture of the population of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. There we are aiming to examine how the values, norms, beliefs, and behavior of their citizens are associated with the different outcomes of the political transformation process these countries have now reached.

Current transformations in the media landscape are challenging contemporary communication and media ethics in at least 2 ways. First, digitization of the media creates new ethical problems that stimulate calls for a redefinition of the norms and values of public communication. Second, new instruments of web-based media observation introduce new possibilities for media (self-)regulation and accountability, thus complementing the initiatives of traditional institutions like press councils. The article retraces those conflicting developments by reference to 2 comparative studies, representing the diverging traditions of conventional communication ethics and media accountability research. In bridging over the conceptual gap between the 2 forms of research, the article develops new perspectives for ethical reflection in the mediatized worlds of the digital age.

This article attempts to develop a theoretical framework in order to understand how the media system has been enabling public figures to use hate speech to enhance their media prominence. The current scenario in Brazil, shaped by a high concentration of (private) media ownership, an economic crisis, deep political polarization, distrust of democracy and the right turn, provides a privileged case for analysing it. In this scenario, public figures preach violence against homosexuals on TV. Black people are insulted and compared to monkeys. Based on Max Weber’s ideal types and Bourdieu’s concept of symbolic capital, four ideal types have been identified: the hate preacher, the right-wing populist, the media polemicist and the intolerant comedian. The analysis makes it evident that hate speakers tend to be ‘backbenchers’ who guarantee their media prominence (or ‘capital’) through a strongly commercialized media system, particularly on TV and the Internet.

Researching people in their chaotic and complex everyday lives is challenging for researchers at any time but especially during the application of social distancing measures. In this article, we make the case for the methodical potential of mobile messengers such as WhatsApp for qualitative mobile in situ research. We exemplify the productive use of the Mobile Instant Messaging Interview (MIMI), a research method developed by Kaufmann and Peil in 2020, to study participants’ everyday life in real-time. Based on two case studies from geography and communication studies conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, we expound our experiences in the practical application of the MIMI approach and give recommendations. We conclude that MIMIs are a low-cost, easily feasible and short-term implemented approach for research interests across disciplines and possessing great potential for exceptional circumstances like the COVID-19 pandemic. They allow direct access to the practices and experiences of people in situ and in real-time that would otherwise stay hidden and inaccessible to social sciences. The method is suitable for research projects of any size, and can be applied as part of multi- and mixed methods designs and as well for longitudinal designs. Nonetheless, the MIMIs have to be well prepared, demand smart ways of nudging participants into elaborating their responses and require careful coordination between larger teams of researchers.

In November of 2022, a Silicon Valley company launched an invention that could complete students’ homework for them. Available only to subscribers at first, by the spring of 2023 OpenAI’s ChatGPT-3.5 was available to millions of students. As of January 2023, anyone with . . .

Purpose This editorial is an introduction to the special issue on CSR communication related to the 4th CSR Communication Conference, held in Vienna (Austria) in September 2017. The purpose of this paper is to critically reflect on the state-of-the-art in academic research on CSR communication concepts, strategies and future scenarios. Design/methodology/approach The editorial critically evaluates existing academic research dealing with CSR communication in the digital age. More precisely, it analyses established theories and concepts of CSR communication in terms of their fit to meet future challenges. Findings It can be noted that CSR communication practice is heading for new shores. Economic pressure, legal and political requirements, reputation risks in a digital media ecology and a new civic-minded and well-being-oriented generation of employees require a reorientation of CSR communication from information to impact orientation. Thus, the authors complement the approach of communication about CSR with the concept of communicative responsibility as a normative framework for corporate communication in the future. Originality/value The analyzed literature as well as the papers of the CSR Communication Conference indicate that the authors are heading toward a future of impact- instead of information-oriented communication. Here, communicative responsibility comes in as a fourth dimension of corporate responsibility, offering a normative framework for strategic, impact-oriented sustainability communication, integrated reporting and internal CSR.

The Covid-19 pandemic temporarily, yet significantly, reshuffled the position, functions and (mediated) constructions of cities and urban places. The national lockdown, implemented by Austria on 16 March 2020, turned cities overnight from centres of hybrid cultural, economic, social, political life and power to places where urban life(styles) were put on hold. This article begins by presenting first key results of a longitudinal study with young adults studying in educational institutions in the state of Tyrol through the harshest country-wide lockdown measures and their gradual withdrawal. We analyse how participants coped with the disruption of their urban lives and lifestyles and the strategies they employed to compensate. We highlight three main insights. First, participants who had originally migrated to the city from their (often rural) hometowns largely returned to join their families. From there, no longer being an object of physical experience, the city became a digitally imagined, constructed and communicated place, reiterating public discourses that condemned the city as a place where lockdown measures were breached, and the virus spread unchecked. Second, where possible and adapted to the affordances of digital media, students shifted their previous lifestyles to digital space as well as created innovative ways of socialising digitally—thus producing alternative digital forms of urban lifestyles and digitally-mediated urban experiences. Third, during the lockdown period, the importance, use intensity as well as a variety of digital media peaked tremendously. This trend, however, was short-lived as yearned-for offline sociability largely returned to the city once measures were relaxed, leaving those in rural homes detached from their urban peers.