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It includes engaging communities and listening to adults and children as they identify problems, propose solutions and act upon them. Communication for development is seen as a two-way process for sharing ideas and knowledge using a range of communication tools and approaches that empower individuals and communities to take actions to improve their lives.

World Bank defines Development Communication "as an interdisciplinary field, is based on empirical research that helps to build consensus while it facilitates the sharing of knowledge to achieve a positive change in the development initiative. It is not only about effective dissemination of information but also about using empirical research and two-way communications among stakeholders". Development Communication division, the World Bank. One of the first examples of development communication was Farm Radio Forums in Canada.

From to farmers met weekly to listen to radio programs, supplemented by printed materials and prepared questions to encourage discussion. Later the Forums dealt with social and economic issues.

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This model of adult education or distance education was later adopted in India and Ghana. It was a forerunner of the school-on-air SOA concept that provided informal education for farmers. Established in , Global South Development Magazine has been a recent example of development communication in practice.

Instructional television was used in El Salvador during the s to improve primary education. One problem was a lack of trained teachers. Teaching materials were improved to make them more relevant. More children attended school and graduation rates increased. It mainly used interpersonal communication in women's clubs. Oryu Li's success did not recur in all villages. The initial effort had the advantage of a remarkable local leader and visits from the provincial governor. This was an attempt to deal with chronic malnourishment among children. The project used cooking demonstrations, posters and broadcasts on local commercial radio stations.

Some people tried soybeans but the outcome of the project was unclear. The books were in Albanian and featured Superman and Wonder Woman. The aim was to teach children what to do when they find an unexploded land mine left over from Kosovo's civil war. The comic books instruct children not to touch and not to move, but instead to call an adult for help. JHR works directly with journalists, providing monthly workshops, student sessions, on the job training and additional programs on a country by country basis. Television and radio played a complementary role in the dissemination of literacy training programs.

Live coverage of literacy worker and students was used to dramatise and this was reinforced on radio and in newspapers. Development communication policy covers formal and informal processes where interests are defined, expressed and negotiated by actors with different levels of power and with the goal of influencing policy decisions. Development communication is intended to build consensus and facilitate knowledge sharing to achieve positive change in development initiatives.

It disseminates information and employs empirical research, two-way communication and dialogue among stakeholders. It is a management tool to help assess socio-political risks and opportunities. By using communication to bridge differences and take action towards change, development communication can lead to successful and sustainable results.

Development communication is a response to historic, social and economic factors that limit access to information and citizen participation. These include poverty and unemployment, limited access to basic services, remote settlement patterns, lack of access to technology, lack of information, inadequate health services, lack of education and skills and lack of infrastructure.

FAO asserted that communication can play a decisive role in promoting human development. Democracy, decentralization and the market economy empower individuals and communities to control their own destinies. Stimulating awareness, participation, and capabilities are vital. Policies must encourage effective planning and implementation of communication programs. Lee advocated that communication policies and practices require joint action among leaders in social, economic, scientific, educational and foreign affairs and that success requires constant contact and consultation with communicators and citizens.

Attended by delegates from ten countries, it drew up basic recommendations including the organization of national development communication councils by each country's governmental, educational and media groups. According to Habermann and De Fontgalland, the difficulties in the adoption of a viable development communication policy have to be simultaneously analyzed horizontally and vertically.

Horizontally government agencies, semi-governmental offices e. Vertically, information must flow in both directions between the population base and decision-making bodies. This involves local and supra-local administrations that are active in handing out directives and reporting back to the government.

In Quebral stressed the importance of equally recognizing systematic practice along with formal research as a legitimate basis for decisions. According to her, research must precede and become the foundation of policy. The design and implementation of policies is becoming more complex, and the number and type of actors involved in policy implementation more diverse; [66] hence, the policy process is evolving towards multi-actor and multi-goal situations. Where several groups of stakeholders are involved in the policy process, a stakeholder analysis can provide a useful resource.

Stakeholder analysis can help analyze the behavior, intentions, interrelations, agendas, interests and the resources of stakeholders in the policy processes. Hannan and Freeman include groups or individual who can affect or be affected by the achievement of the organization's objectives, while others exclude those who cannot influence the outcome. For instance, Brugha and Varvasovszky defined stakeholder as "individuals, groups, and organizations who have an interest stake and the potential to influence the actions and aims of an organization, project, or policy direction.

Government — Enacts all communication policies, making it the most powerful stakeholder.

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Education sector — Conducts research that underlies subsequent policies. Communication industry — Influences communication policies. Private sector — Avoid policies that limit content and to protect themselves from opponents. Religious sector — Traditionally opposes policies that allow obscenity, violence and profanity to be distributed. Foreign interests — e. Consumers — Traditionally not consulted, but more recently claiming to protect the public interest.

The United Nations has recognised the importance of "the need to support two-way communication systems that enable dialogue and that allow communities to express their aspirations and concerns and participate in decisions Cuilenburg and McQuail identify three main phases of communications policy-making: Public Service Media Policy — —After the Second World War, policy was dominated by sociopolitical rather than economic and national strategic concerns. This phase began after the Second World War. Policy expanded from addressing technical matters to the content of communications and to cover the traditional press.

Regulation of mass media became increasingly linked to telecommunications regulation. Globalization and the permeability of national frontiers by multinational media limited the impact of policy in most countries. Development communication policy as a field experienced persistent conflict. Hamelink and Nordenstreng called for multistakeholder participation in information and communications technology ICT governance and for formal and informal policy development mechanisms to enable state and non-state actors to shape the media and communication industries.

Manyozo advocated a rethinking of communication for development policies, perceiving a failure by communication policy makers to identify funding institutions that encourage cultural imperialism and unequal power relations between Western and local organizations. He attributed this to the absence in communication policy debates of a political economy discourse. Development communication policy science take off from development theory that which it says that policy recommendation becomes an engine to the process of social change [76] Servaes, The concept of development communication policy science has reference to the following: UNESCO posits that in order to effect positive developmental change, there is a need to form people and processes that facilitate the creation of knowledge.

For development to happen, a two-way horizontal model which allow direct participation of those most affected by the development issue s can be adopted. In this model, the stakeholder's participation are in a form of defining and implementing solutions and identifying development directions.

Engaging in dialogue with stakeholders for purposes of understanding their perceptions, perspectives, values, attitudes and practices are essential inputs to the design and implementation of development initiatives. Development communication policy science is a thriving and a contemporary field in social sciences. According to Flor , development communication and policy sciences are regarded as distinct and mutually exclusive areas of study but are inextricably linked.

He added that development communication and the policy sciences, although different in scope, stem from the same rationale: As an academic discipline, development communication policy science is the study of the use of the art and the science of policy in the development communication context. Development communication's ultimate goal is to catalyze local development activities, local development planning and implementation, and local communication to smoothen the path to development.

It is the science which uses communication to educate, change and motivate people's attitudes and values leading to developmental goals [82] Policy is a term which frames the action rather than simply describing it Colebatch, Understanding policy means understanding the way in which practitioners use it to shape action. It leads us to ask who is involved in what setting, how the action is framed and what significance in this process of the idea of authorized purpose, and not simply an outcome.

Indeed, the "approach of the policy science is forward-looking and anticipatory". The two fields are undoubtedly different. However, Flor [79] accurately stated that "both stem from the same rationale: The connection between the two fields will be apparent once the question, 'what is the policy for?

Since policy is the pursuit of goals and the effect they have on the action; and development communication aims to facilitate social change, the two processes are represented as a sequence of stages in the development, beginning with the thought and the intention policy , moving through action brought about by communication, and ending with the solution action. To reiterate, unless the policy decision could shape the action, there would be no point in making it.

When policy sciences and development communication have been firmly established in an organization or community, the instruments of policy analysis will provide "unprecedented versatility and effectiveness" Lasswell, Torgerson [86] states that Lasswell proposed the development of policy science-or policy sciences-as an interdisciplinary field to embrace all the social sciences and to produce knowledge applicable to public problems. The term "policy sciences" in its plural form, therefore, emphasizes its interdisciplinary nature Flor, According to Hale , [87] the central aim of policy sciences is to resolve problems [in the service of human dignity] and the diverse human, historical, and contextual element in public policy-making.

This is a reiteration of the Lasswellian maxim on public policy in the following key elements: Indeed, Lasswell's original goal of the policy sciences was to provide, "intelligence pertinent to the integration of values realized by and embodied by interpersonal relations [such as] human dignity and the realization of human capacities" Lasswell and Kaplan, According to Harold Lasswell , the policy sciences are concerned with the knowledge of and in the decision processes of the public and civic order.

At one moment, the analyst regards his subject-matter as an objective phenomenon, but this phase alternates with another in which the analyst comes to view himself as actively involved in the phenomenon which he investigates. Inquiry displays both tension and interplay between these moments; they are distinct yet interwoven, complementary in the ongoing development and refinement of contextual orientation Togerson, Empirical knowledge pertains to those generated through scientific inquiry and observation as applied to decision processes.

As such, the notion of the policy sciences is construed in various shades since it was introduced in the s and over the years, Lasswell and his colleagues refined the concept, through practice and peer review, as the intellectual tools needed to support problem-oriented, contextual, and multi-method inquiry in the service of human dignity for all.

As such, the emphasis of policy sciences is on applying scientific or empirical evidences in understanding problems so that more realistic, responsive and effective interventions are identified and implemented. Since a problem is multidimensional, various scientific disciplines are needed to form a comprehensive analysis of a certain phenomenon.

The trend toward a policy sciences viewpoint is a move away from fragmentation and the fragmented "worm's eye view" of policy matters. The policy sciences provide an integrated and comprehensive approach for addressing issues and problems at all levels in ways that help clarify and secure the common interest.

Policy sciences are concerned with helping people make better decisions toward fostering human dignity for all. Since we are living in a "turbulent field" environment, policy science is necessary to address issues before it will get bigger. The approach of policy sciences, [79] as cited by Flor in his article, is forward-looking or anticipatory.

Policy sciences tell us what we need to do and prepare before certain issues or problems occur. Using an allegorical definition, Dror , as cited by Ongkiko and Flor , explains that " one should not leave the problem of crossing a river until the river is reached; rather, one should survey the territory in advance, identify rivers flowing through it, decide whether it is at all necessary to cross the river—and if so, where and how to cross it—then prepare in advance the materials for crossing the river and design a logistics network so that the material is ready when the river is reached.

These variables are important factors in coming up with a sound and relevant policy. In the context of communication policy development, the policy sciences are necessary to make more purposeful, responsive, and effective communication policies. Profoundly influenced by Freud and Marx, Lasswell emphasized the importance of the contextual orientation of policy analysts, both individually and collectively Lasswell, When he first articulated this principle of contextuality, Lasswell indeed referred explicitly to the "exposition of the dialectical method" [95] in Lukacs's History and Class Consciousness , adding that the insights of psychoanalysis provided a complement to the Marxian dialectic which would aid in understanding "the symbolic aspects of historical development" Laswell, , p.

Here Lasswell proposed a mode of contextual-configurative analysis whereby, through "an act of creative orientation" Laasswell, , p. In this regard, Lasswell considered such contextual orientation indispensable to the conduct of rational inquiry, and urged the use of contextual-configurative analysis in the development of a policy science profession.

All for good reasons: Thus contextuality is a key element in the policy sciences. As a reliance on ideology, principle, and grand historical projects cannot, given the complexity and contextuality of policy problems, serve with reliable solution, a discipline geared to resolve problems should expressly orient itself on those problems and should be purposeful.

Thus problem orientation is the second key element in the policy sciences. Finally, due to the multidimensionality and complexity of many of these problems it stands to reason that the policy scientist should draw from a diversity of methodologies. Thus methodological diversity is the third key element in the policy sciences. It is Lasswell's sincere belief that understanding the policy formation and decision-making process will eventually also be beneficial in the creation of public policy Hale, It combines qualitative interviews on media appropriation, egocentric network maps, and media diaries.

Through the triangulation of these methods of data collection, it is possible to gain a differentiated insight into the specific meanings, structures and processes of communication networks across a variety of media. The approach is illustrated using a recent study dealing with the mediatisation of community building among young people. Since this involves today a variety of different media, the contextual analysis of communication networks necessarily has to imply a cross-media perspective.

Sciences are policy sciences when they clarify the process of policy-making in society or supply data for the making of rational judgments on policy questions" Lasswell The 'art' of policy sciences, therefore, seek to improve decision-making by reinforcing and supporting human dignity to elide the blinders of instrumental reason by addressing the manifold of human experience Hale, The personalities who significantly play vital roles in this field are the policy scientists and analysts who are involved in the scientific design, formulation, analysis, and evaluation of policies in particular and are concerned with the study of the policy-making process in general Flor, Lasswell and McDougal [97] called on "policy scientists to aid decision makers in clarifying goals, identifying trends relative to goals, analyzing the factors causing or contributing to specific trends, projecting the future, and inventing and evaluating policy proposals—alternative actions that may be taken related to the desired results.

To guide communication policy-makers in addressing challenges, Picard and Pickard [98] proposed policy principles that aim to guide contemporary media and communications policymaking in democratic countries so the contributions of these operations and systems to society may be improved. On the other hand, fundamental principles are constant, thus providing guidance on how to respond to new concerns and challenges and making appropriate policies.

Picard and Pickard [99] note that "policy principles are coherent statements based on underlying norms and values that help policymakers and organisations respond to issues and take part in legislative and regulatory activities". In practice, principles are articulated and then used to set policy objectives and determine the means to achieve them. The latter two stages opine Picard and Pickard , are subjected to political processes that determine the final policy outcome. Picard and Pickard [99] therefore came up with the following rubric list of potential principles that they believe are crucial in crafting a much reflective communication policy:.

Principles are therefore not neutral, because they are normative, reflecting specific values that are subject to contestation. In choosing among policy principles, Picard and Pickard [99] assert that policymakers should optimally be concerned about effects of policy on all stakeholders , giving primacy to fundamental communication needs of society and seeking to balance social and economic benefit.

Flor , an expert on Knowledge Management for Development, which discusses the need for convergence in society through inter-cultural communication, using case studies in Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. It also examines environmental conflicts, indigenous peoples, and the official development assistance in the Philippines. The quality and degree of societal communication — the mass media and education—determine the ways that cultures are exposed to others.

The higher the quality and degree of inter-cultural communication, the lower the propensity for conflict, and vice versa. The concept of convergence looks at the communication process as cyclical between source and receiver, and interactive between their message and feedback. Communication and Culture, Conflict and Cohesion. The Convergence Model of Communication.

His involvement in communication policymaking is facilitated by the so-called institutionalization of people power. His expertise may be directly tapped by the most important stakeholder, the media consumer. The participation of information users and media consumers in policy making may be realized by the formation of a nationwide media consumer's organization or a federation of local organizations of this nature in which policy analysts play a significant role.

This proposed organization could initiate media education in the formal and non-formal modes. Media education at the formal level may be facilitated by lobbying for the inclusion of such in existing secondary and tertiary curricula. Non-formal education may be conducted through media consumer sponsored awareness campaigns. This organization could also conduct its own audience related studies and policy research. It could establish a nationwide network involving the church, academic communities, grassroots organizations and cause-oriented groups.

Communication policy scientists may also serve as part of the staff of our legislators in the Congress and Senate. In their private capacities, they can form research and development outfits or "think tanks" whose services may be availed of by government agencies. Indeed, now is a fortuitous time for policy engagement in development communication.

Culture, politics, economics and technology have an impact on policy decisions. In order to investigate the factors that influence communications policy, one has to go beyond conventional views of media and communication and should combine these with policy studies. According to experts, communication policy science would be understood if the public just had access to the right scientific information. Coyle, in his article "Theory of Development Communication", articulates that people have options to change their ways of life through communication.

People improve their lives and ways of thinking through communication, sharing their perspectives and understanding what is going on in their surroundings. As highlighted by Flor, communication development has something to do with policy science as these are anchored for improving policy making. As stipulated in Walt Rostow's theory in Boado's article, societies progress through specific stages of development on their way to modernity. Policy makers and scientists can communicate directly with the public through social media and blogging.

By using social media outlets such as Twitter and Facebook, policymakers and scientists can serve as critical mediators in disseminating scientific information by sharing advancements directly with society. Lee, author of Towards Realistic Communication Policies: Recent Trends and Ideas Compiled and Analysed , published by The Unesco Press, shares that every state or nation carries communication policies.

By citing a Unesco report made by experts on communication and planning, Lee defines communication policies as "sets of principles and norms established to guide the behaviour of communication systems. He adds that the dimensions of communication policies as well as communication planning encompass the communication system, its components and structures; the functions of the system; the "clients" or audience using the system; the types of information carried by the system and its components; the values and qualities of the information content; and a variety of considerations about the system, its functions, audience, types of information and qualities.

Members of the audience are classified based on such characteristics as age, sex, occupations, socio-economic strata, urban-rural locations and persuasions.

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Types of information refer to the conversation, cultural forms, data, education, entertainment, general information, music, news and opinion. Meanwhile, truth, objectivity, relevance, educational effectiveness, violence, humour, sex, libel are examples of values and qualities of the information content. According to Lee, the "consideration, identification and determination" of the scope of specific communication systems and societal principles and norms are needed in formulating communication policies.

In his paper, Lee also discusses participation in the formulation of communication policies by asking, "Who is involved? They are government executive, legislative bodies, authorities in charge of social and economic planning, individual ministries and their planning boards, communication enterprises, professional organizations, the citizen, the social scientist and the economist.

Lloyd Sommerland, UNESCO Regional Communication Adviser for Asia, [] points out the difference between communication policies and communication planning by saying that the former provides "the principles, rules and guidelines on which the communication system is built," while the latter is concerned with the policy implementation. He shares that every country engages in development planning that touches different sectors of a society like "agriculture, manufacturing, commerce, education, health, transport and communication, social and community services.

The word "communication" in this particular context includes telecommunications, mass media print and broadcast , face-to-face communication and traditional channels and these are resources tapped by a society "to enable information to flow within it", he adds. Sommerland also underlines that communication policies are not the ends and they provide a framework for action. Strategic planning translates into quantified targets and systematic approaches, the general objectives of communication policies," he says.

Sommerland also supports some claims of Lee that communication policies are either embedded or implied in the existing policies of a nation. Because communication is interdisciplinary and because it is the thread which binds a nation together, communication policies even if incomplete and implicit, are to be found in many different parts of a political and social system.

Development communication and policy sciences exhibits mutuality as catalysts of change in this fluid environment. Both are geared towards effecting change in society. Will these two sciences be robustly beneficial if converged in one developmental framework? Allen as cited in Flor, postulates that policy is a science of decision-making based on empirical data gathered from observation. How does it relate to development communication? Although a relatively young science, Development Communication has now been recognized and adopted by various agencies: In the same vein, policy sciences grew out of this need to reorient actively the social sciences to the resolution of policy issues.

A policy science is anchored on its intelligence function, followed by mobilization and bureaucratic reforms where mobilization is a key component of development communication. Development communication practitioners are well-equipped when it comes to understanding social phenomena which can aid in the intelligence function of policy scientists. The development agenda of both sciences are anchored on contextuality, meaning both recognizes the human's social values and institutions in drafting interventions, plans and policies to achieve an enlightened society.

These policies are products of Development Communication initiatives that can influence decision makers or the government in enacting pertinent laws for the benefit of the publics. Development communication's process is akin to policy science as both recognizes the context or the environment where humans socially interact.

Both are using social science procedures in solving large-scale problems [68] and further acknowledges communication as an integral part of the process. Hence one can surmise that policy decision-making is dependent on communication. In an era of rapid development, each field should not be viewed as dialectically superior against the other, rather both development communication and policy sciences should mutually work to advance for the social change.

The thrusts and goals of Development communication can be sustainable if it is backed by certain policies. In relaying a message, creativity is needed to attract the attention of its audience. It does not focus only on beautifying the message or the image but the art of communicating with people that would help them understand and adapt to the changes that will happen to them. As Flor and Ongkiko emphasize, development communication is a social science. At the same time, it is both theory and practices. The theory is backed-up with science in order to understand a situation, then the application or execution of plans towards development is the practice.

A systematic approach which mostly based on the methods of science is followed in order to address a situation. The most commonly used method is identifying the problem, gathering data about the problem and develop communication processes that will be useful in able to address the situation and helped the community for development. This is an important aspect for development communication because it is people-centred. The people need to communicate with one another for their own development. The people behind the development is reaching out to the people who need development.

That is human communication. This represents the social change that will happen to the community. All the researches made in able to identify the problem must put into action for the transformation of the lives of the people in the community. The greatest challenge in development communication is poverty.

Even in the Millennium Development Goals of United Nations, poverty is at the top of the list that needs to address with the hope of eradicating it in the future. Because of poverty, many people are experiencing malnutrition, unemployment and illiteracy which adds to the burden of the people. Since the goal is for development, this is a continuous process. The aim is to help the people with their economic, social, and environmental goals.

Noticeably, everything that was mentioned in the explanation of the definition of development communication has something to do with goals, progress, theory, research, problem identification, and practices. McPhail, also describes development communication as a process of change using education or media as long as it is for the purpose of positive social change.

As mentioned, development communication is backed with science through theories by identifying the problems needed to address.

Lasswell identified policy science as problem-solving, with the idea of when addressing the problems, it should focus on human dignity or the fulfilment of human potential as Quebral said on her definition of development communication. According to Jaime B. Ramirez , members of the development media have considered economic and social development as one of the significant and vital signs of national development. Admittedly, he said, development communication cam always bridge gaps between the traditional and modern changing society, as it can raise the full aspirations of the people under the new society in the overall strategy for change.

Development communication accordingly, can enforce social norms. In terms of policy sciences, development communication Ramirez adds, can broaden the policy dialogue by providing the two-way flow of information and opinion required for development as a nation. It, therefore, plays a potent and major role to economic and social development as well as political power. Without sacrificing its freedom, the development media can contribute to the growth of democratic institutions and to political stability, essential to national development.

This definition highlights the three important features of development communication — process, analytical activity based on dialogue, and aims to achieve change. It affects goal setting, decision making, development and implementation, and impact assessment.

Development communication

However, communication as a strategic tool remains deficient in development programs creating the need to establish an Interest Group on Strategic Communication for Sustainable Development. Strategic communication "aims at the innovative and sustainable change of practices, behaviors and lifestyles, guides communication processes and media interventions within and among social groups".

An effective strategy for sustainable development integrates the vision and action plan of the government, civil society and the private sector. This is aligned with the long tradition of strategic communication initiatives used in development projects related to human rights, democracy, poverty alleviation and health aimed at generating awareness, promoting behavioral changes, affording mobilization, and creating partnerships to reach common goals.

As a group that is marginalized from global, national, and community power structures, Wilkins [] contends that women tend to constitute a target more often than a participant in the production of development communication. This facilitated the designation of the Decade for the Advancement of Women until As a discourse, WID served to organize principles for the production of knowledge about women by states, institutions, and communities Escobar, , p. Steeves [] drew attention to critical scholarship about the political economy of communication and participatory approaches to development Freire, [] to propose the creation of a global, imagined feminist community that challenges power relations.

Hooda and Singh note that the most significant and longest social movement continuing is the movement for the emancipation of women. However, the primary goal for women empowerment is to improve the quality of life of women, but also has deep ramifications in social, economic and political scenario of body polity. Development communication activity embodies models of social change that are implemented across political and cultural boundaries wherein, issues of gender, communication, and development are grounded in global structures and processes of power, which condition access to and acquisition of economic and social resources.

Early scholars of development communication did not explicitly address the role of gender in their discussions of media and modernity Watkins, , p. There is thus a need to understand the dynamics contributing to the institutional construction of gender within development communication strategies designed to alleviate social problems.

Regardless whether gender plays a central role in a development communication policy, the policy-making process has to be taken in a deliberate way to address concerns of both women and men. When views of different groups of women and men in policy formation and delivery are taken accordingly, misjudging of the different effects on each group, and the systems and organizations that support them can be avoided.

In a quest to ensure that the overall legal and policy framework is promoting gender equality, more than just adopting laws that explicitly provide for gender equality can be done. Thus it is essential that all laws and policies reflect gender equality considerations, through a process called gender mainstreaming. Gender mainstreaming is the mechanism to ensure a gender-sensitive approach to policy making.

Gender mainstreaming , according to the United Nations , is a globally accepted strategy for promoting gender equality. Mainstreaming is not an end in itself but a strategy, an approach, a means to achieve the goal of gender equality. A strong, continued commitment to gender mainstreaming is one of the most effective means for the United Nations to support promotion of gender equality at all levels—in research, legislation, policy development and in activities on the ground, and to ensure that women as well as men can influence, participate in and benefit from development efforts.

The communication approach embedded within empowerment models combines the use of appropriate media. This means using a variety of channels ranging from indigenous media, local and international media systems. Defined as the statistical study of populations, Demography is seen as more of a general science that can analyze populations that show change over a period of time. However, in combination with the more specific aspect of communication that has to do with social sciences, demographics can be a significant factor and consequently influencer of Development Communication policy design.

Population changes are brought about by birth, migration and mortality. These demographic processes affect the use of resources, nation-building and society formation, and cultural development calling for development communication policies. The results highlight that communication plays a much larger role in shaping demographic processes Tindall, an associate professor in the department of communication at Georgia State University, US, shares "Demographic categories can still tell us a lot about our social structure, and continue to be useful for macro-level understandings of people and societies.

Furthermore, the criterion by which a demography is performed are relevant factors that may act as a roadmap that can guide development communication policy making. This includes but is not limited to age, level of education, gender distribution profile, individual and household income, etc. With the anticipatory objective of policy sciences in relation to crisis or problem solving, the better policy makers get a grasp of how a population is demographically—not just socially—the more sensitive and pro-active policy making as a process can be.

When perspectives of an accurate cross-sectional sampling of a population, group, or culture are taken into consideration, the ensuing policies are better geared towards the pre-set objectives. Scalone, Dribe, and Klusener have further found that "Communication can significantly increase the impact of population-relevant policies and other processes of social change In one of its publications back in "Approaches to Communication Planning," where it presents some of the most common approaches that scholars, planners and professionals to use.

Below are common approaches to communication planning. The process approach deals directly with the communication planning process which deals to the theories within the planning process that asserts that planning is the application of theory on how and why they are used. UNESCO, The second is it deals with the planning process itself that provide alternative ways of organizing the planning function and process, given different purposes and planning contexts. Communication policy makers are not acting in isolation; they had the full support of scientist and theorists.

Communication for Development aims at upholding change in people's attitudes and behavior so as to increase their participation in the development process. Rogers' diffusion of innovations theory is perhaps the most influential theory in the modernization paradigm. The diffusion model gained wide currency in most developing nations and still looms large with the agenda to support 'development' by "informing the populations about the development projects, illustrating their advantages and recommending that they be supported" Servaes, Communication within the modernization approach is synonymous to information and ignores the importance of feedback in the communication process.

Melkote and Steeves [] contributed three key qualities of modernization theory and practice: It is a process of justifying inequality in society by finding defects in the victims of inequality. The policymakers simply blame the despondent lives led by the poor in Third World countries and it is being attributed to the lack of motivation and access to information relating to the various social and economic aspects that they need in order to redeem themselves.

The theorist believed that outside interventions to address matters concerning the poor would have dreadful results since these would be interfering with a natural course of events and individual choices and rights. The effect of a focus on individual level cultural deficiencies has been to sustain the status quo within and between unequal societies and thus delay change.

The systems approach in communication planning deals on how to establish new systems within organizations UNESCO, This approach is valuable to planners faced with the task of setting up organizational systems to carry out communication functions UNESCO, This approach can also be best applied to problems in the environment, providing planners with an analytical perspective on problem analysis and a range of techniques to use in implementing this perspective UNESCO, Network approach specifically focuses on the transnational dynamics that govern communication systems.

Government officials and policy makers in both developed and developing countries are often confronted with problems for which they have no design solutions. Winsemius proposed four phases of policy cycle; Phase 1: Recognizing the problem; groups in the society such as government official, lobbyists and countries' leaders recognize the problem, e. The problem is made known to all stakeholders, during this stage the members realized that problem should be tackled through policy.

Gaining Control over the Problem; at this point, the government start to advance in their mechanisms through the formulation of policies. Policy oriented research is often appointed to scientific institutions, opinion surveys are piloted, and options for improving and solving the problem are accounted. Solving the Problem; at this stage, policies, programs and projects are implemented.

In most cases, the government will manage all the details of a program by itself but the best scenario is when NGOs and other involved groups participate in the initiatives. At this point the focus is to ensure that the problem is under control and must remain so. This is also the time to think about future policies and to develop public and private partnerships in implementing policies. Policy analysis has traditionally followed a linear model — problem identification, policy formulation, legislation, implementation, evaluation, and iteration.

However, in solving complex socio-economic problems, a more interdisciplinary approach to societal problems may be more effective particularly for research topics of interdisciplinary nature e. The main interest of interdisciplinary research for policy and practice is description, prediction, and ultimately social action. Ongkiko and Flor [43] argue that a development communication specialist DCS , at one time or another, also assumes the role of a communication policy analyst in Communication Policy Analysis 'because of his proactive posture and his preoccupation with purpose' Flor, Remember that policy sciences anticipates, and looks forward, thus, substantiates the proactive nature of a DCS.

In order to fully act out this role, there is a need for a rudimentary knowledge of methods in policy analysis, particularly those related to development communication. The decision to adopt or not depends on the findings of the assessment. CTA is forward-looking and adopts certain value premises on what is socially beneficial or detrimental to society.

Choice and Preference in Media Use: Advances in Selective Exposure Theory and Research

Introduced by Jules Dupuit in s, French engineer and economist, the cost benefit analysis is a methodology used in policy analysis as a way of weighing up projects costs and benefits, to determine whether to go ahead with a project []. Beyea , [] identifies the types of cost analysis used in policy making to aid decision process. Cost-Benefit analysis, Cost-effectiveness, cost-utilization and cost utility. SCBA or EA is a feasibility study of a project from the viewpoint of a society to evaluate whether a proposed project will add benefit or cost to the society Ibid.

Ongkiko and Flor [43] further elaborate that SCBA is a quantitative method which attaches monetary values on social conditions brought by certain communication policies. Flor explains the monetary value of the social costs is subtracted from the social benefits of a particular program or policy. A positive difference is required for a program or policy to be adjudged as socially beneficial. The problematique analysis procedure is a naturalistic approach [] that seeks to discover the influential factors [79] and describe the structure of problems that exist in communication systems Librero, ; Flor, The basic purpose of this approach, according to Librero , is to identify the problem rather than the solution.

In the process, therefore, the evaluator employing problematique analysis identifies the factors that influence the system, shows the hierarchical relationships of these factors and traces the root causes of the problems of the system. The identification of the superordinate influential factors or the root causes, then, prevents the recurrence of the problem situation. As a policy analysis tool, scenario construction SC describes a possible set of future conditions Moniz, [] or hypothetical events that may occur in the future of a particular system Allen, , as cited by Flor, It has also been defined as a description of the conditions and events under which some system being studied is assumed to be operating Kraemer, , as cited by Flor, Scenarios provide an educated description of one of many possible futures of a system, usually presented at the most optimistic or "best-case" state and the most pessimistic or "worst-case" state.

In this approach, the quantitative underpinning enriches the narrative evolution of conditions or evolution of variables; narratives describe the important events and developments that shape the variables. In terms of innovative methods for policy analysis, the foresight and scenario construction methods can be an interesting reference for social sciences Moniz, []. Citing Allen , Flor enumerates six steps in scenario construction, namely: The Policy Delphi, according to Flor , is a variation of the Delphi technique. It is a tool for the analysis of policy issues seeking the involvement and participation of anonymous respondents usually representatives of the different stakeholders of the policy.

Herein, the desirability and feasibility of certain policies are assessed from the points of view of the different stakeholders. Herein, the decision maker is interested on having a group that will give him options and supporting evidences where he can choose from for him to make a solution, rather than having a group that will produce the decision for him.

As a process, the policy Delphi undergoes the following six phases: As a methodology, Delphi is used for structuring a group communication process so that the process is effective in allowing a group of individuals, as a whole, to deal with a complex problem. In the Philippines, this has also been well applied in a study conducted by Dr. Alexander Flor and Dr. Flor [79] emphasizes the incorporation of divergent stakeholders in communication policy making.

That the State is not a lone actor in the creation of public policies as noted by the various stakeholders identified by Flor , attesting to the fact that State actions do not occur in an empty space. Employing the Modified Policy-Delphi technique to crafting an all-inclusive communication policy include the following jusutification:. The methodology outlined in Haynes et al [] paper align with Servaes [] reference to the application of Participatory Communication Research from a Freirean Perspective by positing that for dialectical and emancipatory process of action and reflection that constitutes the "process of conscientization, where an agenda instead of defined by an academic elite and programs enacted by a bureaucratic elite for the benefit of an economic or political elite, participatory research involves people gaining an understanding of their situation, confidence and an ability to change that situation" Servaes, It points to a strategy, not merely inclusive of, but largely emanating from, the traditional 'receivers'.

Sarveas [] had outlined the following caution:. Simulations and modelling recently become a useful tool policy analysis involving computers and software in creating a virtual representation of the scenario. Because it offers a systems view of the situation, the analyst or researcher can monitor how the players or variables interacts in the simulated environment. Guyonne Kalbe identifies and distinguishes two types of simulation models: According to Kalbe, the macro-level is applied mostly for huge sectors of the industries.

This macro simulation is usually applied by developed countries in order to assess and understand policy changes. On the other hand, the micro-level is used for a specific company using a sample of population when a need for more precised and focused information is its goal. In contrast to large-scale industries that use the macro-level approach, the micro-level is individualized. Since problems in policy decisions are not linear by nature, computer simulations provides a concrete view of the situation and how the variables changes pace.

These changes in behaviors are integral in developing policies. Steven Bankes explicates the use of computer simulation in policy decisions wherein models used in policy analysis provide arguments to illuminate options for policy decisions based on the result of computer simulated analysis. The methodology has been successfully used in development projects. We provide complimentary e-inspection copies of primary textbooks to instructors considering our books for course adoption.

Learn More about VitalSource Bookshelf. CPD consists of any educational activity which helps to maintain and develop knowledge, problem-solving, and technical skills with the aim to provide better health care through higher standards. It could be through conference attendance, group discussion or directed reading to name just a few examples.

We provide a free online form to document your learning and a certificate for your records. Already read this title? Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience this may cause. Exclusive web offer for individuals. Home Choice and Preference in Media Use: Advances in Selective Exposure Theory and Research. Choice and Preference in Media Use: Add to Wish List. Toggle navigation Additional Book Information. Description Table of Contents Author s Bio. Summary Mediated messages flood our daily lives, through virtually endless choices of media channels, genres, and content.

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