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Research

CCMS – a research profile

The socio-cultural and technological changes characterising contemporary globalised societies have paved the way to complex societal phenomena and issues that require wider and deeper understandings and explanations. To address the multifaceted aspects of late modernity or postmodernity, faculty members at CCMS engage in forms of collective research capable of creating synergies among individual scholars under a united vision. This is crucial to produce research outcomes that are impactful, strategic and effective for all stakeholders (e.g., academicians, industry practitioners, communities, governments, and the general public). Importantly, due to their propensity to investigate wider social issues from different perspectives and disciplinary approaches, CCMS faculty members engage in interdisciplinary and post-disciplinary research.

In general, there are five areas/foci representing research activities at CCMS, namely:

-  Communication in the MENA region and Arab world.

- Communication and culture.

- Digital communication and digital media.

- Health communication.

- Tourism, culture and communication.

Fall 2021 CCMS Research in Numbers 

Weekly research updates - 17
Journal articles – 37
Book chapters – 4
Conference papers/presentations – 8
Podcasts/Interviews – 4
Books – 1 signed contract
Invited speakers – 7
Appointment as journal/special issue editors – 4
Appointment as jury/examinations – 2 

Grants & Awards

4 Provost’s Research Fellowships – Don Shin, Filareti Kotsi, Ganga Dhanesh, Valerie Priscilla Goby
2 RIFs – Elsayed Darwish, Noela Michael
3 Start-Up Grants – Danica Cigoja Piper, Hilke Steenkamp, Stefan Sonvilla-Weiss

Best Paper Awards

Ganga Dhanesh – Best paper award at the European Public Relations Education and Research Association (EUPRERA) annual congress in Pamplona, Spain, for "CSR in hypermodern times: Towards a new measurement of segmentation of socially conscious publics." 

Stanford University Releases List 2021

Don Shin has been listed as one of the “World Top 2% Scientists” on the Stanford University Releases List 2021. In 2020, he has been on the top 2% of the most-cited scientists list in the world in various disciplines by Stanford University – Based on data from Scopus that ranks journals and gives a career-long citation index.

Community Engagement

Unstereotype Alliance UAE Chapter x Zayed University –  Ganga Dhanesh and Gaelle Duthler
Cross-Cultural Communication Conference 2021 - Gaelle Duthler was part of the main Panel Discussion. 
‘Mind the PR Gap: Corporate purpose in a post-pandemic world’ –  Ganga Dhanesh invited as panellist. 
‘An Gorta Mór - Passage to India’- Documentary Screening at Expo 2020 – Fokiya Akhtar, Noela Michael, and Paolo Mura
Webinar ‘Mentoring Women Professionally’ –  Hessah Al Falahi invited as speaker. 
Masterclass introducing Media Information and Literacy - Danica Cigoja Piper invited as speaker.  

The Global Capability Framework: Building the Future Public Relations Professional in the UAE

A team of CCMS researchers, consisting of Dr. Ganga Dhanesh, Dr. Gaelle Picherit-Duthler and Dr. Hilke Steenkamp, investigated the capabilities needed in the public relations and communication management profession. The research aimed to extend the initial nine-country Global Capability Framework project commissioned by the Global Alliance to the United Arab Emirates and the report is the first of its kind in the Middle East.

The UAE study offers unique insight into how public relations and communication management practitioners, employers and educators understand and define capabilities required for the public relations profession in a Middle Eastern, Arab country.

The identified the top 14 capabilities will define the current state and future direction of the public relations profession and education in the UAE.

The findings of the study have significant implications for public relations and communication management practitioners, employers, and educators. The research will help practitioners assess their own performance in the capabilities they see as important. When practitioners can self-assess, they can set professional development goals and seek resources to enhance their performance.

The research can help employers understand which capabilities are seen as important, thus enabling them to support their team with the right resources. Employers can also use the report to review their team’s strengths, do succession planning, and draft job advertisements.

 For educators the research will be useful to identify any gaps between what is taught and what competencies are needed in the UAE. Educators can design courses and curricula to focus on knowledge and skills needed to enhance certain capabilities deemed important by the profession in the UAE.

GCF Report 2020-2021 for the United Arab Emirates