Editorial

Dear SComS readers, We are happy to present you the first issue of 2019. As has happened quite regularly since the migration of SComS to the HOPE platform, also this issue features, beyond the general section, a thematic section. This time, our thematic section is devoted to crises seen from a perspective of political communication. We are happy and proud that many authors and contributors are willing to publish thematic sections with SComS, which propose cutting-edge research and open fresh perspectives on communication studies. You might consult our open calls for thematic sections on the journal webpage, www.scoms.ch

Editorial

The publication of issue 20(2) of SComS marks an important occasion, namely the 20th anniversary of our journal, which was founded at USI – Università della Svizzera italiana twenty years ago, and consequently published its first issue in early 2001. As you might know, SComS was merged with Medienwissenschaft Schweiz (a publication by the SACM – Swiss Association of Communication and Media Research) in 2007, keeping the name Studies in Communication Sciences. Seizing the occasion of this achievement, we would like to share some important information with you. First, speaking about the history of our journal, we remind you that the early issues of SComS and of Medienwissenschaft Schweiz are fully accessible on our website (section “Archives”), thanks to our collaboration with e-periodica. Second, we are happy to announce that SComS now has an online first publishing policy, meaning that articles are quickly made available online. This policy increases the pace and visibility of articles published in SComS, which is a clear advantage for both our authors and readers. Finally, if you wish to receive regular updates on news, thematic sections and articles published, we encourage you to follow SComS on Twitter (@SComS_Journal). Moving on to discuss the contents of SComS 20(2), we are pleased to announce that this issue contains a variety of topics and perspectives in our field. Alongside a General Section and a Thematic Section, it also contains a Community Section, in which we publish a summary of the PhD thesis that has won the SACM Dissertation Award 2020. Finally, this issue includes a Reviews and Reports Section that comprises two book reviews of recent publications in our field and a report on a scientific workshop held in Zurich

Editorial

This issue marks the second year since Studies in Communication Sciences (SComS) is published Open Access on the HOPE platform of the University of Zurich (www. scoms.ch). The present issue of SComS perfectly reflects the unique character of the journal. Not only do we present you a thematic section with a very innovative topic, namely Fashion Communication. We also collect three papers in the general section that, despite their different topics, have something in common that is telling for the role of communication in Switzerland

Guest Editorial to the Thematic Section on ECREA 2018

This thematic section is devoted to the 7th Conference of the European Communication and Research Association (ECREA), held in Lugano from October 31st to November 3rd, 2018. The section contains three different parts: three conference keynote speakers’ papers translated into Italian language, six reports of special panels on topics related to the conference theme that were chosen by the local organizing committee of USI Università della Svizzera italiana, and, finally, a conference report written by Fiona Fehlmann. The reports on special panels are written in English language, the conference report in German and French language. This thematic section thus fully embraces the flexibility with respect to publication languages offered by Studies in Communication Sciences

Editorial

We are pleased to announce several innovations at SComS. In July, SComS was added to the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ). This gives our young open access journal more visibility and connects us even better with the growing community dedicated to developing open access journals and making scientific knowledge accessible. In addition, there are technical innovations on the Submission Platform. Authors can now directly enter their ORCID ID as part of the submission process and link their papers to their unique researcher ID. In case you are not familiar with ORCID, you can find more information on https://orcid.org. Let us now turn our attention from future issues to this issue of SComS. It contains four articles in the General Section, a Thematic Section entitled “Critical perspectives on migration in discourse and communication,” and two book reviews in the Reviews and Reports Section. In addition, the Community Section contains the summary of Sina Blassnig’s dissertation, which was awarded the 2021 Dissertation Prize of the Swiss Association of Communication and Media Research (SACM). On a sad occasion, the issue also contains an obituary of the communication and media scientist Michael Schanne

Baked bunnies, couple selfies, and video-call gardening: Visual communication in couple relationships during COVID-19

The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic has had manifold societal implications. This paper reflects on the role of visual communication for maintaining relationship stability in couple relationships during the first wave of the pandemic, which we understand as a circumstantial turning point. The analysis is based on qualitative interviews with couples before, during, and after the first wave of COVID-19 in Switzerland, complemented by creative visual methods, follow-up surveys, and video calls. Our results show that visual practices are embedded in rather stable communication repertoires of couples during their relationship maintenance phase. Our study also points to the simultaneous use of a variety of visual practices, which led to a high “visual saturation”. These visual practices were found to contribute to relationship stability by reinforcing intimacy, a key factor in couple relationships, thereby shielding the relationships from circumstantial change

Editorial

We are pleased to present to you the first of the three issues of Studies in Communication Sciences scheduled for publication in 2023. Beginning in 2022 and on a trial basis, SComS begun to publish three issues per year in response to the increased number of submissions. We are continuing our trial which allows us to offer two issues with Thematic Sections which have been very important to our community of readers. This still leaves us another full issue dedicated exclusively to general submissions. In 2023, SComS will publish two Thematic Sections “Old media persistence. Past continuities” in issue 23-3. The Thematic Section in this issue 23-1 is titled: “Historizing international organizations and their communication – institutions, practices, changes”. We have enjoyed receiving very interesting proposals for Thematic Sections. At this moment, we already have Thematic Sections planned for 2024. If you are thinking of organizing one, please plan ahead and we look forward to receiving your proposal

Academic traditions in communication: Expanding the field and redrawing the boundaries. ECREA 2018 special panel report

The main conference topic for the ECREA conference in Lugano addressed the many ways in which centers, cores and peripheries, and also mainstreams and alternatives are dealt with in academic media and communication research. The premise of this panel was to apply this general outline of the conference for academic introspection and to recount the many shifting centers and peripheries of communication research over time and discuss the redrawing of the contours of our expanding field. Less than two decades back, the question what the main subjects of media and communication inquiry were would have highlighted the centrality of (already slowly declining) mass media as the main pillars alongside journalism and public communication. Since then, the very notion of mediated communication has become less clear and has expanded to nearly all areas of the human experience and encompasses a variety of technologies, tools, platforms and intermediaries for communication

Editorial

The third and last issue of the year offers a diversity of communication topics. The General Section includes a study of parasocial relations with media characters and an analysis of COVID-19 rhetoric in Iran. The Thematic Section presents a rich discussion of issues and processes involved in the persistence of “old media.” Diverse topics are also presented in the Community Section including a summary of the SACM award winning dissertation and an introduction to DOCA. Finally, the contributions to the Book Review Section discuss books on Internet memes and the influencer industry. Before our more detailed overview, we are pleased to present an important next step for SComS.SComS is evolving toward Open Data and Open Research. Since 2017, SComS has been published as a platinum open access journal. One notable feature is the journals’ multilingual nature. For authors, the online first publication of articles is particularly advantageous, enabling the timely publication of accepted contributions. With these features, SComS has positioned itself as a dynamic and innovative journal in the European journal landscape. However, the step toward Open Data and Open Research has not been fully embraced yet

The potential of an exam villa as a structural resource during prolonged exam preparation at university

IntroductionDrawing on the Demand-Control Model, this study examined whether using an exam villa as a supportive learning environment provides a structural resource for law students during exam preparation. First, we hypothesized that villa students show higher decision latitude and satisfaction and less stress compared to non-villa students. Second, we expected villa use to predict stress and satisfaction over and beyond the demand-control dimensions. Third, decision latitude was tested to mediate of the relationship between villa use and both outcomes.MethodsOur cross-sectional study included N = 205 advanced law students that gave self-reports on their stress and satisfaction, villa use, their perceived demands and decision latitude along with some control variables. All students were within a period of long-lasting exam preparation stretching over 12 to 18 months whereas n = 41 students used the villa.ResultsUsing the exam villa was associated with both less subjective stress and more satisfaction. SEMs revealed villa use to predict stress but not satisfaction over and beyond the demand-control dimensions with 73% of overall explained variance in stress and 62% of variance in satisfaction. Decision latitude mediated the relationship between villa use and both outcomes.DiscussionThe findings support the potential of structural resources in reducing stress among students undergoing prolonged academic stress