Papers by Karolína Poliaková
International journal of doctoral studies, 2024
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JCOM, journal of science communication, Feb 21, 2024
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International Journal of Doctoral Studies, 2024
Aim/Purpose:
This paper presents an in-depth analysis of the media portrayal of Ph.D. programs in... more Aim/Purpose:
This paper presents an in-depth analysis of the media portrayal of Ph.D. programs in the Czech Republic. Specifically, it explores how doctoral study programs, their students, and the Ph.D. degree are represented across various topics and social actors over an 18-month period.
Background:
The societal perception of Ph.D. studies, especially at the postgraduate level, is significantly shaped by media representations, including their connections to science, academia, and broader social life. Therefore, it is crucial to investigate the portrayal of the Ph.D. phenomenon in the media. The Czech Republic provides a relevant use case because of Central Eastern European (CEE) settings and amplified media coverage. The main factors are several political and social influences and governmental discussions regarding the legality of and against precarious conditions.
Methodology:
This study utilizes a qualitative method of conventional and directed content analysis to thematically categorize a corpus of 456 articles on Czech news platforms. A subset of these articles (thematic cluster about study conditions) undergoes further analysis to identify represented social actors. The results are clustered and interpreted using examples from the dataset. The instances of studied phenomena are quantified to provide an enumerated representation of individual themes and social actors.
Contribution:
The author contributes to research on doctoral studies by expanding the existing knowledge through media content analysis within the social constructivist paradigm. Moreover, the CEE region, often overlooked in doctoral studies and science communication research, is highlighted here. Finally, this article enriches the understanding of public relations strategies for higher-education institutions by focusing on earned media channels as opposed to solely owned ones.
Findings:
The analysis leads to the determination of 10 thematic clusters that can be succinctly categorized into four main areas: “Ph.D. Title,” “University Life,” “Study Conditions,” and “Controversial Issues.” The latter two categories are notably politicized, a fact underscored by the actor analysis, which shows a predominance of political figures in the media coverage. An unexpected result of the research is the significant underrepresentation of student voices in the analyzed sample of media outputs, except for those doctoral students who also hold positions such as student initiative chairs. Additionally, comparing the results to previous research on doctoral studies, it can be argued that many of the critical topics discussed by the research community, such as mental health issues or diversity of the student cohort, are not equally represented in media portrayals.
Recommendations for Practitioners:
Practitioners, especially communication professionals from higher education institutions and research centers, can leverage these insights to refine their communication strategy. This can help counterbalance prevailing media narratives and provide a more representative portrayal of study programs, focusing on areas currently underrepresented in media discourse.
Recommendation for Researchers:
Researchers from other regions are encouraged to conduct similar studies using the presented framework to map the representation of Ph.D. in respective media outlets. It is advisable to consider the local context in the interpretative phase of the content analysis, as demonstrated in this study.
Impact on Society:
The findings elucidate the role of the Ph.D. within the national media landscape of higher education, potentially influencing policymakers, journalists, and science communication professionals to reconsider their approaches to media discourse. Lastly, as hinted above, science communication professionals can benefit from the results in terms of future development of media outreach strategy with a focus on targeted topics.
Future Research:
The presented work would benefit from a broader, multinational comparison and also a complementary audience analysis to understand how Ph.D. students and possible applicants interpret these messages and whether they correlate with their attitudes.
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Book Reviews by Karolína Poliaková
Journal of Science Communication, 2024
In the 2021 book How to Talk to a Science Denier: Conversations with Flat Earthers, Climate Denie... more In the 2021 book How to Talk to a Science Denier: Conversations with Flat Earthers, Climate Deniers, and Others Who Defy Reason, Lee McIntyre introduces different anti-science movements and their reasoning. Based on personal interactions with committed science deniers and literature from various disciplines including cognitive psychology, he argues that all these communities use the same playbook in terms of reasoning about evidence, argumentation, demands on scientific certainty and recruitment of new members. Such observations allow McIntyre to propose a universal strategy to combat these beliefs by using respectful in-person engagement and effective science communication tools. His argument is rooted in the idea that anti-science beliefs are built on identities, not on the content of specific beliefs.
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Bachelor and Master Thesis by Karolína Poliaková
The work explores the transformation of the motif of violence in advertising. The first part focu... more The work explores the transformation of the motif of violence in advertising. The first part focuses on possible formal acts of violence and the function that the element of violence can have in the advertising work. In the sake of the complexity of the analysis of the formal aspects, I include both the style illustrations and the content elements. For a more detailed analysis of the motif of violence in advertising, I explain the role of emotions that shape the final reception. In my work, I also focus on the motif of violence within the legal system of the Czech Republic and self-regulatory principles with regard to the activities of the Council for advertising. The work also set the theme of violence in advertising in the context of research on this issue. Considering the scope of the analytical part, which is devoted to advertising of nongovernmental organization Amnesty International, firstly I introduce the issue of social advertising compared with commercial marketing. Variability of the motif of violence in terms of formal aspects and functionality is demonstrated in the commercials of Amnesty International in the years 2006, 2008, 2012 and 2014, and in various types of media - outdoor advertising, print, video and online applications. Individual advertising works are analyzed based on Roland Barthes's semiotic theory in his work called Rhetoric Image. The analysis in the second part of the work confirmed the presence of the element of violence in some of the possible forms and functions that were introduced in the first part.
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The paper maps the use of the principle of randomness in artistic activity with a focus on visual... more The paper maps the use of the principle of randomness in artistic activity with a focus on visual art and the placement of Czech art in the world context. It examines the hypothesis of whether randomness in the hands of the artist becomes an instrument to objectify his or her work and to approach the general principles of the natural world, which, according to the assumption, add novelty and consequently increases its artistic value. The text begins with an etymological interpretation of the concept of randomness, further observes randomness as a phenomenon in various social spheres, and eventually presents the artistic movements and artworks that systematically use randomness. An overview of avant-garde art and abstraction of the first half of the 20th century will allow the author to interpret the principles of randomness used in computer art. The work concludes with a detailed analysis
of Zdeněk Sýkora's work, in which, according to the author, the development line of precomputational art is mirrored, along with a breakthrough in digital tools. The conclusion of the work reveals the diversity of the application of the principle of randomness in the art world and finds a common divisor in the objectivizing function, respectively the rising aesthetic value. Through this interpretation, Zdeněk Sýkora's work is in the context of the world art and extends his interpretation as a computer artist to a complex interpretation with a strong rooting in landscape painting.
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Papers by Karolína Poliaková
This paper presents an in-depth analysis of the media portrayal of Ph.D. programs in the Czech Republic. Specifically, it explores how doctoral study programs, their students, and the Ph.D. degree are represented across various topics and social actors over an 18-month period.
Background:
The societal perception of Ph.D. studies, especially at the postgraduate level, is significantly shaped by media representations, including their connections to science, academia, and broader social life. Therefore, it is crucial to investigate the portrayal of the Ph.D. phenomenon in the media. The Czech Republic provides a relevant use case because of Central Eastern European (CEE) settings and amplified media coverage. The main factors are several political and social influences and governmental discussions regarding the legality of and against precarious conditions.
Methodology:
This study utilizes a qualitative method of conventional and directed content analysis to thematically categorize a corpus of 456 articles on Czech news platforms. A subset of these articles (thematic cluster about study conditions) undergoes further analysis to identify represented social actors. The results are clustered and interpreted using examples from the dataset. The instances of studied phenomena are quantified to provide an enumerated representation of individual themes and social actors.
Contribution:
The author contributes to research on doctoral studies by expanding the existing knowledge through media content analysis within the social constructivist paradigm. Moreover, the CEE region, often overlooked in doctoral studies and science communication research, is highlighted here. Finally, this article enriches the understanding of public relations strategies for higher-education institutions by focusing on earned media channels as opposed to solely owned ones.
Findings:
The analysis leads to the determination of 10 thematic clusters that can be succinctly categorized into four main areas: “Ph.D. Title,” “University Life,” “Study Conditions,” and “Controversial Issues.” The latter two categories are notably politicized, a fact underscored by the actor analysis, which shows a predominance of political figures in the media coverage. An unexpected result of the research is the significant underrepresentation of student voices in the analyzed sample of media outputs, except for those doctoral students who also hold positions such as student initiative chairs. Additionally, comparing the results to previous research on doctoral studies, it can be argued that many of the critical topics discussed by the research community, such as mental health issues or diversity of the student cohort, are not equally represented in media portrayals.
Recommendations for Practitioners:
Practitioners, especially communication professionals from higher education institutions and research centers, can leverage these insights to refine their communication strategy. This can help counterbalance prevailing media narratives and provide a more representative portrayal of study programs, focusing on areas currently underrepresented in media discourse.
Recommendation for Researchers:
Researchers from other regions are encouraged to conduct similar studies using the presented framework to map the representation of Ph.D. in respective media outlets. It is advisable to consider the local context in the interpretative phase of the content analysis, as demonstrated in this study.
Impact on Society:
The findings elucidate the role of the Ph.D. within the national media landscape of higher education, potentially influencing policymakers, journalists, and science communication professionals to reconsider their approaches to media discourse. Lastly, as hinted above, science communication professionals can benefit from the results in terms of future development of media outreach strategy with a focus on targeted topics.
Future Research:
The presented work would benefit from a broader, multinational comparison and also a complementary audience analysis to understand how Ph.D. students and possible applicants interpret these messages and whether they correlate with their attitudes.
Book Reviews by Karolína Poliaková
Bachelor and Master Thesis by Karolína Poliaková
of Zdeněk Sýkora's work, in which, according to the author, the development line of precomputational art is mirrored, along with a breakthrough in digital tools. The conclusion of the work reveals the diversity of the application of the principle of randomness in the art world and finds a common divisor in the objectivizing function, respectively the rising aesthetic value. Through this interpretation, Zdeněk Sýkora's work is in the context of the world art and extends his interpretation as a computer artist to a complex interpretation with a strong rooting in landscape painting.
This paper presents an in-depth analysis of the media portrayal of Ph.D. programs in the Czech Republic. Specifically, it explores how doctoral study programs, their students, and the Ph.D. degree are represented across various topics and social actors over an 18-month period.
Background:
The societal perception of Ph.D. studies, especially at the postgraduate level, is significantly shaped by media representations, including their connections to science, academia, and broader social life. Therefore, it is crucial to investigate the portrayal of the Ph.D. phenomenon in the media. The Czech Republic provides a relevant use case because of Central Eastern European (CEE) settings and amplified media coverage. The main factors are several political and social influences and governmental discussions regarding the legality of and against precarious conditions.
Methodology:
This study utilizes a qualitative method of conventional and directed content analysis to thematically categorize a corpus of 456 articles on Czech news platforms. A subset of these articles (thematic cluster about study conditions) undergoes further analysis to identify represented social actors. The results are clustered and interpreted using examples from the dataset. The instances of studied phenomena are quantified to provide an enumerated representation of individual themes and social actors.
Contribution:
The author contributes to research on doctoral studies by expanding the existing knowledge through media content analysis within the social constructivist paradigm. Moreover, the CEE region, often overlooked in doctoral studies and science communication research, is highlighted here. Finally, this article enriches the understanding of public relations strategies for higher-education institutions by focusing on earned media channels as opposed to solely owned ones.
Findings:
The analysis leads to the determination of 10 thematic clusters that can be succinctly categorized into four main areas: “Ph.D. Title,” “University Life,” “Study Conditions,” and “Controversial Issues.” The latter two categories are notably politicized, a fact underscored by the actor analysis, which shows a predominance of political figures in the media coverage. An unexpected result of the research is the significant underrepresentation of student voices in the analyzed sample of media outputs, except for those doctoral students who also hold positions such as student initiative chairs. Additionally, comparing the results to previous research on doctoral studies, it can be argued that many of the critical topics discussed by the research community, such as mental health issues or diversity of the student cohort, are not equally represented in media portrayals.
Recommendations for Practitioners:
Practitioners, especially communication professionals from higher education institutions and research centers, can leverage these insights to refine their communication strategy. This can help counterbalance prevailing media narratives and provide a more representative portrayal of study programs, focusing on areas currently underrepresented in media discourse.
Recommendation for Researchers:
Researchers from other regions are encouraged to conduct similar studies using the presented framework to map the representation of Ph.D. in respective media outlets. It is advisable to consider the local context in the interpretative phase of the content analysis, as demonstrated in this study.
Impact on Society:
The findings elucidate the role of the Ph.D. within the national media landscape of higher education, potentially influencing policymakers, journalists, and science communication professionals to reconsider their approaches to media discourse. Lastly, as hinted above, science communication professionals can benefit from the results in terms of future development of media outreach strategy with a focus on targeted topics.
Future Research:
The presented work would benefit from a broader, multinational comparison and also a complementary audience analysis to understand how Ph.D. students and possible applicants interpret these messages and whether they correlate with their attitudes.
of Zdeněk Sýkora's work, in which, according to the author, the development line of precomputational art is mirrored, along with a breakthrough in digital tools. The conclusion of the work reveals the diversity of the application of the principle of randomness in the art world and finds a common divisor in the objectivizing function, respectively the rising aesthetic value. Through this interpretation, Zdeněk Sýkora's work is in the context of the world art and extends his interpretation as a computer artist to a complex interpretation with a strong rooting in landscape painting.