ABSTRACT
This book analyses communication of university research institutes, with a focus on science communication. Advancing the ‘decentralisation hypothesis’, it asserts that communication structures are increasingly built also at ‘subordinate unit’ levels of research universities.
The book presents a cross-country systematic comparison of institutes’ communication activities showing ongoing transformations in their communication capabilities and practices. It considers a potential ‘arms race’ in activities, professionalisation, motivations, and evaluation. Based on empirical evidence from an international study carried out in various countries across Europe, the Americas, and Asia, the book examines the possibilities for civic science communication in this new context.
It will be of interest to scholars and students of Communication Studies, STS, and Science Communication as well as to those taking or leading courses in the fields of Sociology, Public Relations, Marketing, Environmental and Risk Communication, Innovation Studies, and Social Psychology. It is an essential resource for funders, practitioners, teachers, and students dealing with science communication and the position of science in society.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
part 1|33 pages
Introduction and Overview
chapter Chapter 1|20 pages
Public Communication Activities of Research Institutes
part II|96 pages
Cross-National Comparisons
part III|132 pages
National Situation and Profiles
chapter Chapter 8|20 pages
The Communication of Research in Italy
chapter Chapter 9|15 pages
Public Engagement at Research Institutes in the Netherlands
chapter Chapter 10|18 pages
US American Scholars Are Finding Paths to Engagement through their Research Institutes and Centers
chapter Chapter 11|19 pages
Public Communication in Japanese Research Institutes
chapter Chapter 13|19 pages
Public Engagement Activities of German Research Institutes
part IV|21 pages
Methodological Considerations