Communication Theory

Al ser una disciplina joven, los debates sobre el objeto de estudio de la comunicación no están cerrados. El objetivo de este artículo es hacer un recorrido teórico por la delimitación del objeto de estudio de la comunicación, así como un rastreo de las perspectivas epistemológicas que envuelven estos campos teóricos. Finalmente, concluimos que la comunicación es mucho más que el estudio de los medios y que sigue siendo necesario discutir sobre su objeto de estudio.

This empirical investigation addresses four paradigmatically framed research questions to illuminate the epistemological status of
the field of health communication, systematically addressing the limitations of existing disciplinary introspections. A content analysis
of published health communication research indicated that the millennium marked a new stage of health communication
research with a visible shift onto macro-level communication of health information among nonhealth professionals. The analysis
also revealed the emergence of a paradigm around this particular topic area, with its contributing scholars predominantly sharing
postpositivistic thought traditions and cross-sectional survey-analytic methodologies. More interdisciplinary collaborations and
meta-theoretical assessments are needed to facilitate a continued growth of this evolving paradigm, which may advance health communication
scholars in their search for a disciplinary identity.

En su compleja y plural evolución, las Ciencias de la Comunicación han generado una enorme disponibilidad de Teorías, Enfoques, Escuelas, Técnicas, Herramientas, útiles para su aplicación al ejercicio profesional en nuestro campo. En el presente Cuaderno abordaremos brevemente la evolución de 7 modelos comunicacionales que, a nuestro juicio son los más importantes (pero no los únicos ni los últimos) y cuya interrelación permanente resulta clave para contextualizar el surgimiento, desarrollo y crecimiento presente y futuro de nuestro campo profesional: 1 - Modelo Matemático de la Información; 2 - Modelo de Lasswell; 3 - Modelo de Schramm; 4 - Modelo de Maletzke; 5 - Modelo de Jakobson; 6 - Modelo de Palo Alto; 7 - Modelo de la Propaganda.

In its complex and plural evolution, the Communication Sciences have generated an enormous availability of Theories, Approaches, Schools, Techniques and Tools, useful for their application to the professional practice in our field. In this Notebook we will briefly discuss the evolution of 7 communication models that, in our opinion, are the most important (but not the only ones nor the last ones) and whose permanent interrelation is key to contextualize the rise, development, present and future growth of our Professional field: 1 - Mathematical Model of Information; 2 - Lasswell´s Model; 3 – Schramm´s Model; 4 - Maletzke´s Model; 5 - Jakobson´s Model; 6 - Palo Alto Model; 7 – Propaganda Model.

Despite increasing enthusiasm for political deliberation as a rejuvenating tonic for representative democracy, some theorists question the extent to which deliberative forums adequately incorporate diverse individuals and communication styles. Unfortunately, the theoretical debate between the deliberative theory and the “difference critique” has reached an impasse. To advance this important literature, we derive two formal propositions from each perspective and test these rival claims in the context of the jury system, the most prominent institutionalized deliberative practice in the United States. Surveys of over 3,000 jurors who served in local courthouses indicate that gender and other demographic differences are poor predictors of jurors’ satisfaction with their service experience, including their perceptions of deliberation. The study also shows that emotion—a dimension of deliberative experience presumed to be gendered—is important for both men and women. On balance, the results call into question the power of the difference critique, at least in the context of modern jury deliberation.