Communication Institute. A Synthesis of Population Communication Experience. Papers

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This series of 11 papers summarize developments in population communication. They cover the various public-oriented components of population/family planning communication programs--formal, in-school population education; education for adults and out-of-school youth; public information activities; use of mass media; and field extension programs--as well as the organizational and administrative concerns of national family planning programs including training for family planning communication personnel; the operation and strategies of family planning programs; the conduct of utilization of program-related research; professional and technical information services in support of population activities; and the integration of family planning with other development sectors.

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    Population/family planning media communications in 25 countries
    (Honolulu, HI : East-West Center, East-West Communication Institute, 1977-06) Sweeney, William O'Neill; East-West Communication Institute
    This report presents data on six media and their use in population/family planning information campaigns: telephone, mailings, newspapers, film, radio, and television. The report is based on a selection of available materials from 25 countries. Reports of programs were included if they had explicit objectives and an action component, if they measured the effects of action against objectives
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    Public information and mass media in population communication programs
    (Honolulu, HI : East-West Center, East-West Communication Institute, 1977-05) Glattbach, Jack; East-West Communication Institute
    The paper is an analysis of the public information component of population and family planning programs. It reviews the variety of ways that population messages have been distributed by mass media such as radio, newspapers and magazines, films, television, posters and folk media. Topics covered include the nature of population/family planning as it affects communication strategy and content, the development over the last two decades of public information activities in population/family planning, the failure on the part of population communicators to understand the nature of mass media and to take advantage of opportunities to increase media coverage of population issues, the population "lobby" and its access to media, the use of commercial resources for marketing and advertising family planning services, problems and needs in the area of population communication-related research, and the planning and management of communication strategies and programs. The paper concludes by identifying several areas where public information programs could be improved.
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    Donors and developers in population communication
    (Honolulu, HI : East-West Center, East-West Communication Institute, 1977-04) Echols, James R.; East-West Communication Institute
    This paper is a review of technical and economic assistance in the field of population and family planning communication. It traces the development of population-related assistance programs and describes the kinds of assistance available from the major donor agencies and technical assistance institutions for population and family planning communication. It discusses problems and issues of technical and economic assistance such as the impact of external funding on national goals and policies; the relationships between outside experts and national personnel; the cultural variations that support or hinder programs of technical assistance; and coordination among donors, action agencies, and national governments. The author assesses the impact of economic and technical assistance programs on national family planning programs and identifies trends and probable future developments in the assistance field.
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    Population and development : requirements for rural communication strategy
    (Honolulu, HI : East-West Center, East-West Communication Institute, 1977-06) Barghouti, Shawki M.; East-West Communication Institute
    This paper investigates the potential for increasing the effectiveness of rural family planning programs by strengthening their functional links with other areas of development: agriculture and rural development, health and nutrition, home economics and family life, and education. The author reviews a number of successful, integrated projects that have used innovative approaches to present population problems and solutions to them. He uses the models presented by these projects to suggest strategies for field activities such as working with village-level groups and with adult education programs. The paper concludes with a review of the requirements for an effective rural family planning program such as adequate information and materials for fieldworkers, training and backstopping for fieldworkers, involvement of rural workers in program planning and research projects, free flow of communication among all levels of the family planning program and with other development programs, and good relationships with members and groups within the rural community.
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    Interpersonal communication
    (1977-04) Keeny, Spurgeon Milton; East-West Communication Institute
    The paper examines the important role of interpersonal communication in the success of national family planning programs in East Asia. The development of the fieldwork component is reviewed with a stress on the role of the fieldworkers and home visitors; their characteristics; their selection, training, and supervision; and the problems they face. The other personnel involved in family planning communication and service activities in the rural areas, and the education of decision-makers and elites in the early stages of family planning programs are also discussed.
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    Professional and technical information for population programs
    (Honolulu, HI : East-West Center, East-West Communication Institute, 1977-07) Radel, David J.; Konoshima, Sumiye; East-West Communication Institute
    This paper reviews technical publication programs, libraries, and other activities that produce, store, and distribute professional and technical information in support of population/family planning programs, and discusses some of the key audiences and program uses for this type of information. To meet professional/technical information needs, a large number of relevant activities have been developed in the population field, including "in-house' libraries, special clearinghouses, and information analysis centers that prepare "state-of-the-art" compilations. In addition, several countries have initiated programs in research utilization. The authors trace the development of networks linking various population information sources at national, regional, and global levels and examine the several bibliographic retrieval systems (mainly developed at U. S. universities) that search computerized data bases and endeavor to serve the needs of developing country programs. The authors identify gaps and problems in current population information services such as uneven distribution of information, inadequate information about information, the need for transformation of information for certain key audiences, and excessive dominance of academic styles and approaches. The paper concludes with some guidelines for a comprehensive population information service.
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    Management and utilization of population communication research
    (Honolulu, HI : East-West Center, East-West Communication Institute, 1977-07) Kar, Snehendu B.; Irgens, Timothy; Wilson, Joy; East-West Communication Institute
    This paper reviews the factors that influence the management, conduct and utilization of social science research related to population communication policies and strategies. These factors include assumptions of causality, communication between planners and researchers, power and control of relevant decisions, the concept of good and useful research, communication complexity and semantics, perceptions of effective use of research, time perspectives, situational factors, general versus specific applications, feedback of research results, the researchers' dilemma, and reward and reference groups for planners and researchers. The second part of the paper analyzes patterns of past research including the clinic and KAP phase and the extension education and field campaign phase, the impact of funding on research, and implications for future research.
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    The great tabu : a half century of population and family planning communication
    (Honolulu, HI : East-West Center, East-West Communication Institute, 1977-05) Stycos, J. Mayone; East-West Communication Institute
    The author discusses the tabus on contraceptive and sex-related communication that have been common throughout history up to the present. He traces the development of the birth control movement and shows how, in order to gain legitimacy, Margaret Sanger and other early leaders had to drop their stress on female, sexual, and social liberation and to "desexualize" family planning communications. As a result, the emphasis in birth control messages shifted from sexual consequences to social benefits, thereby making family planning acceptable to the medical profession and the eugenicists. Because Western ideology has dominated the international planned parenthood and population planning movement, current family planning communications, worldwide, reflect these Western attitudes toward sex and reproduction. The author discusses current problems in family planning communications including the quality of family planning communication personnel, the small percent of family planning budgets devoted to communications, the lack of good, useful communications research, the agro-communication bias that assumes the ideal communication strategy for family planning is interpersonal communication, and the myth that communicating family planning is more difficult than communicating new ideas in other sectors of development. The author concludes by speculating on the future of population communications.
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    Conferences and meetings as a communication technique
    (Honolulu, HI : East-West Center, East-West Communication Institute, 1977-05) Webster, R. Lyle; East-West Communication Institute
    The author examines the extent to which conferences and meetings have been involved in the development of the population/family planning field and particularly in the development of communication as a component of population/family planning programs. Significant international, regional and problem-oriented meetings that have taken place during the last decade are reviewed in terms of their purpose, subject matter, sponsorship, and impact on world awareness and national policies and programs. Topics covered include the roles of various agencies and organizations which organize and fund conferences related to population communication, conferences with and for the mass media, conferences and meetings as components of specific projects, and the development of meetings on the national level. A detailed case study of a conference is presented to show how conferences are planned, conducted and evaluated, and to identify desirable and undesirable aspects of conference management. The author concludes by taking an overall look at conferences and identifying their positive elements and their major shortcomings, by presenting guidelines for conference planners and managers, and by assessing trends and alternatives for population/family planning conferences in the future.
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    Training in communication for family planning : retrospect and prospects
    (Honolulu, HI : East-West Center, East-West Communication Institute, 1977-07) Amritmahal, G. R.; East-West Communication Institute
    This paper reviews the aims and purposes of communication training, tracing the evolution of training in family planning communications from the early stages of national program developments to the present. The author discusses training needs and the clientele of training programs including those involved in face-to-face communications, personnel responsible for integrating interpersonal and mass communications, mass media personnel, and specialists in the production of communications materials. Other topics covered include training for integrated family planning and development programs, national and regional training centers, university based/academic programs, the training of trainers, and training facilities. Examples of successful as well as nonsuccessful training programs are used to illustrate the many different aspects of population/family planning communications training. The author concludes with an assessment of recent developments and future prospects in the field.

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