Nordafrika-Politik zwischen Idealen und Interessen: Deutschland und Frankreich müssen ihre Unterstützung besser aufeinander abstimmen

Der "Arabische Frühling" hat die südliche Mittelmeer-Region grundlegend verändert. Als Folge der Umbrüche werden auch bestehende internationale Allianzen auf den Prüfstand gestellt und neue Kooperationen geschaffen. Sowohl Frankreich als auch Deutschland haben sich intensiv für Hilfsprogramme und die Unterstützung der Transformationsprozesse in den arabischen Staaten eingesetzt. Traditionell und historisch bedingt sind die französischen und deutschen Beziehungen zum südlichen Mittelmeer-Raum dennoch unterschiedlich stark ausgeprägt. Nordafrika stellt für Frankreich eine der wichtigsten Investitions- und Handelsregionen weltweit dar, zugleich existieren enge zivilgesellschaftliche Netzwerke. In Deutschland gibt es vor allem nach den Umbrüchen ein wachsendes Interesse an der Region. Im südlichen Mittelmeer-Raum agieren sowohl Deutschland als auch Frankreich im Spannungsfeld von starken Handels- sowie Energieversorgungsinteressen und einer wertegebundenen und menschenrechtsorientierten Außenpolitik. Zwischen der deutschen und der französischen Maghreb-Politik bestehen zunehmend Gemeinsamkeiten trotz verschiedener Formen von Akteuren und unterschiedlicher Akzentsetzung in den politischen Strategien. Ähnliche ökonomische und politische Interessen, was Handel, Energiepolitik oder Sicherheit betrifft (im Kontext von Migration, internationalem Terrorismus und organisiertem Verbrechen), wie auch vergleichbare Kooperationsmaßnahmen führen bei den Partnern zu immer mehr Konvergenz. Gleichermaßen wächst mit der Annäherung deutscher und französischer Strategien aber auch die Gefahr einer Doppelung in der deutsch-französischen Entwicklungszusammenarbeit. Besonders im Energiebereich gibt es eine Vielzahl parallel verlaufender Projekte, z.B. das von der deutschen Privatindustrie geplante internationale Wüstensolarprojekt DESERTEC, und das in Paris initiierte Projekt MedGrid zur Schaffung eines euro-mediterranen Stromnetzes. Sinnvoller erscheint hier eine engere deutsch-französische Abstimmung im Rahmen der Europäischen Nachbarschaftspolitik und der Mittelmeer-Union. Konkrete europäische Projekte und Anknüpfungspunkte existieren bereits, wie der Mittelmeer-Solarplan oder die Pläne für ein European Supergrid.The "Arab Spring" has shaken up the Southern shore of the Mediterranean. These democratic changes have put existing international alliances to the test and created new partnerships. Both France and Germany have worked hard in order to implement aid programs and to support those changes in the Arabic countries. However, French and German relations to Southern-Mediterranean countries are traditionally and historically very different. North Africa is one of the most important regions in the world for French investment and trade and there are close networks between the French and North African civil societies. In Germany, a growing interest for the region has appeared, especially after the political changes. Both Germany's and France's actions in the Southern Mediterranean region are influenced by strong interests for trade and energy supply on the one side and by a normative and human rights-oriented foreign policy on the other side. Between the French and German Maghreb politics, there are growing common grounds, in spite of various forms of actors and different accents in their political strategies. Both countries have similar economic and political interests, like trade, energy policy or security (in the context of migrations, international terrorism and organized crime). These similar interests as well as comparable measures of cooperation lead to more and more convergence between both partners. But the approaching of German and French strategies goes in parallel with the danger of a duplication of French and German development aid. Particularly in the energy field, where there are numerous parallel projects, for instance the German solar energy project DESERTEC and the French initiative MedGrid, which should lead to the creation of a Euro-Mediterranean electricity supply system. A stronger French-German coordination which is integrated into the European Neighborhood Policy (ENP) and into the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) seems to make more sense. There are already concrete European projects and starting-points, like the Mediterranean-Solarplan or plans for a European Supergrid

Beyond the news media logic? Analyzing the social media orientation of university leadership

Building on scholarship on the mediatization of organizations, we propose a conception of the social media orientation of organizational leaders and apply it to higher education. Based on an online survey of 276 leaders of Swiss higher education institutions, we show that social media platforms have made their way into university management and communication but are still not as important as news media. The study discusses differences between university types and uses the literature on new public management to derive influencing factors. The appendix extends the empirical results in Fürst, Schäfer, Vogler, and Sörensen (2023) by providing additional descriptive data. It also includes more information on the sample and the original wording of the survey questions in German and an English translation

Communication of higher education institutions: Historical developments and changes over the past decade

Higher education institutions (HEIs) are pivotal organizations in modern societies. Over the past decades, the higher education sector has expanded considerably in countries across the world, with many newly founded colleges and universities and rapid increases in student enrollment and research output. In addition, new public management reforms and a growing need for societal legitimation have led many HEIs to establish or enlarge their communication departments, pursue branding and reputation management, and professionalize their communication efforts across various channels. Although a growing body of literature has shed light on how HEIs engage in public relations (PR) and science communication, we know little about how their communication has developed over time and in relation to the fundamental transformations in higher education systems and the media landscape in recent years, decades, and even centuries. Most existing sketches of such historical developments have focused on one country – as is typical for histories of PR in general – and have been dedicated to the second half of the 20th century. In contrast, the early beginnings of university communication since the late 19th century and recent trends in the past decade have been little researched. This guest editorial and the contributions of this Thematic Section on Changing Communication of Higher Education Institutions address these gaps in research and together shed light on developments in different European countries, as well as in the U. S

Higher Education Institutions on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter: Comparing Swiss Universities’ Social Media Communication

Public communication has become more important to higher education institutions (HEIs), with many HEIs using social media to communicate with stakeholders. However, scholarship on the subject is scarce and mainly based on single-platform studies and small datasets. Therefore, we conducted a cross-platform study to examine the communication of all Swiss HEIs on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. The results were based on two datasets: an automated analysis on data for all Swiss HEIs (n = 42) and their social media accounts from 2004 to 2021 (337,232 posts from 207 accounts), and a manual content analysis on 1,500 posts per platform. By including all HEIs in one country, this study allowed for a comparison of the results by HEI type: universities of applied sciences, universities of teacher education, and research universities. Results show that, in recent years, HEI communication increased on Instagram, but not on Facebook or Twitter. Twitter was used the most by research universities, while most Instagram and Facebook posts were from universities of applied sciences. Universities of teacher education were least active across all platforms. The content of communication across all HEI types was primarily self-referential. Our analysis of how well HEIs used the affordances of social media communication relative to hypertextuality and multimodality revealed a generally high level of adaption. Moreover, our data showed no substantial impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on posting activities and engagement with social media posts by HEIs for the two first years of the pandemic

Assessing changes in the public communication of higher education institutions: A survey of leaders of Swiss universities and colleges

Over the past decades, higher education institutions (HEIs) across the world have institutionalized communication departments and played an increasingly important role in communicating science to the public. While a growing body of research has analyzed the practices and structures of central communication departments in HEIs, little is known about developments over time. This study examines perceived changes in HEI communication along different analytical dimensions and across HEI types. Conceptually, neo-institutional theory is used to derive the factors that foster this change, specifically the new public management reforms and the accompanying coercive, normative, and mimetic pressures on HEIs. The empirical study is based on a survey of 196 members of HEI leadership in Switzerland. The results show that, according to organizational leaders, HEI communication has diversified and intensified considerably over the last five to ten years. It has also become – albeit to a somewhat lesser extent – more professional and strategic. Multiple linear regression analysis reveals that the strongest predictors of perceived change in HEI communication are the goal to build public reputation, the perceived competition among HEIs for public reputation, and the observation of other Swiss HEIs. The study outlines implications for future research and for HEI communicators

Assessing changes in the public communication of higher education institutions: A survey of leaders of Swiss universities and colleges

Over the past decades, higher education institutions (HEIs) across the world have institutionalized communication departments and played an increasingly important role in communicating science to the public. While a growing body of research has analyzed the practices and structures of central communication departments in HEIs, little is known about developments over time. This study examines perceived changes in HEI communication along different analytical dimensions and across HEI types. Conceptually, neo-institutional theory is used to derive the factors that foster this change, specifically the new public management reforms and the accompanying coercive, normative, and mimetic pressures on HEIs. The empirical study is based on a survey of 196 members of HEI leadership in Switzerland. The results show that, according to organizational leaders, HEI communication has diversified and intensified considerably over the last five to ten years. It has also become – albeit to a somewhat lesser extent – more professional and strategic. Multiple linear regression analysis reveals that the strongest predictors of perceived change in HEI communication are the goal to build public reputation, the perceived competition among HEIs for public reputation, and the observation of other Swiss HEIs. The study outlines implications for future research and for HEI communicators

Organizational and societal goals in tension? A survey of communication practitioners at Swiss higher education institutions

The public communication of higher education institutions (HEIs) has gained importance both in practice and research and can serve different goals. Many scholars argue that HEI communication departments mainly aim to promote their organization and are less concerned with broader societal goals and normative principles of communication. Since these assumptions have not yet been explored empirically, we surveyed 203 communication practitioners from all 42 Swiss HEIs on their role conceptions and the quality criteria used in their communication departments. Our results show no general dominance of organizational over societal goals and revealed few differences between different types of HEIs

Role conceptions of university communicators: A segmentation analysis of communication practitioners in higher education institutions

Higher education institutions (HEIs) are major players in public science communication. However, only a few studies have investigated HEI communication practitioners, who play an important role in shaping universities’ public relations and outreach communication. Building on the assumption that HEI communicators differ in their role conceptions, as well as professional and educational backgrounds, we surveyed 189 communicators from all 42 HEIs in Switzerland. Using segmentation analysis, we identified four types of communicators—(1) the leading all-rounder, (2) the generalist, (3) the science mediator, and (4) the service partner—who differ in their role conceptions, but also in their professional characteristics and organizational contexts

Higher Education Institutions on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter: Comparing Swiss Universities’ Social Media Communication

Public communication has become more important to higher education institutions (HEIs), with many HEIs using social media to communicate with stakeholders. However, scholarship on the subject is scarce and mainly based on single-platform studies and small datasets. Therefore, we conducted a cross-platform study to examine the communication of all Swiss HEIs on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. The results were based on two datasets: an automated analysis on data for all Swiss HEIs (n = 42) and their social media accounts from 2004 to 2021 (337,232 posts from 207 accounts), and a manual content analysis on 1,500 posts per platform. By including all HEIs in one country, this study allowed for a comparison of the results by HEI type: universities of applied sciences, universities of teacher education, and research universities. Results show that, in recent years, HEI communication increased on Instagram, but not on Facebook or Twitter. Twitter was used the most by research universities, while most Instagram and Facebook posts were from universities of applied sciences. Universities of teacher education were least active across all platforms. The content of communication across all HEI types was primarily self-referential. Our analysis of how well HEIs used the affordances of social media communication relative to hypertextuality and multimodality revealed a generally high level of adaption. Moreover, our data showed no substantial impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on posting activities and engagement with social media posts by HEIs for the two first years of the pandemic

Selection of indicator contaminants of emerging concern when reusing reclaimed water for irrigation — A proposed methodology

Organic and microbial contaminants of emerging concern (CECs), even though not yet regulated, are of great concern in reclaimed water reuse projects. Due to the large number of CECs and their different characteristics, it is useful to include only a limited number of them in monitoring programs. The selection of the most representative CECs is still a current and open question. This study presents a new methodology for this scope, in particular for the evaluation of the performance of a polishing treatment and the assessment of the risk for the environment and the irrigated crops. As to organic CECs, the methodology is based on four criteria (occurrence, persistence, bioaccumulation and toxicity) expressed in terms of surrogates (respectively, concentrations in the secondary effluent, removal achieved in conventional activated sludge systems, Log Kow and predicted-no-effect concentration). It consists of: (i) development of a dataset including the CECs found in the secondary effluent, together with the corresponding values of surrogates found in the literature or by in-field investigations; (ii) normalization step with the assignment of a score between 1 (low environmental impact) and 5 (high environmental impact) to the different criteria based on threshold values set according to the literature and experts' judgement; (iii) CEC ranking according to their final score obtained as the sum of the specific scores; and (iv) selection of the representative CECs for the different needs. Regarding microbial CECs, the selection is based on their occurrence and their highest detection frequency in the secondary effluent and in the receiving water, the antibiotic consumption patterns, and recommendations by national and international organisations. The methodology was applied within the ongoing reuse project SERPIC resulting in a list of 30 indicator CECs, including amoxicillin, bisphenol A, ciprofloxacin, diclofenac, erythromycin, ibuprofen, iopromide, perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), sulfamethoxazole, tetracycline, Escherichia coli, faecal coliform, 16S rRNA, sul1, and sul2.publishedVersio