Profile
Jessica teaches in areas of communication for social change, global media, research methods and creative industries. Her current research is examining the ways in which ideas of social innovation and social entrepreneurship are being incorporated into the practice of communication for social change, and the implications for the framing of the role of communication in development. She is also a Co-Investigator and Communication Lead on the Overcoming Stigma through Paralympic Sport project, partnering with the International Paralympic Committee and the University of Malawi, with funding from DFID via the Global Disability Innovation Hub. She has worked with various partners including UNICEF, ABC International Development, and International Media Support.
Academic background
Jessica is the author of Rethinking Media Development Through Evaluation: Beyond Freedom (published by Palgrave Macmillan); the editor of Evaluating Communication for Development: An Evaluation Framework in Action (published by Practical Action Publishing); and the co-editor of Communication in International Development: Looking Good or Doing Good (published by Routledge).
Jessica completed her PhD in the Institute for Creative Industries (School of Journalism, Media, and Entertainment) at the Queensland University of Technology in 2014. She then worked at RMIT University as a Postdoctoral Researcher, and then at the University of Leicester as a lecturer in the School of Media Communication and Sociology.
Research
Current research and collaborations
- Co-Investigator and Communication Lead on the Overcoming Stigma through Paralympic Sport project, partnering with the International Paralympic Committee and the University of Malawi.
- Finalising the Evaluating C4D Resource Hub, a partnership with UNICEF Communication for Development.
Current PhD / research supervisions
- Flavio Garcia Dar Rocha (Part-Time, third-year FTE). Research investigates media practices, content choice and meaning making of young adults in Brazil, particularly video consumption in a moment of transition from linear TV to online and streaming.
- Boeun (Beth) Hong (Full-time, second year). Research investigates the role of design in ‘undesigning stigma’ in the context of disability, issues of inclusion/exclusion, and with a focus on Malawi.
- Happy Singu-Hansen (Full-time, first year). Research investigates people-centred innovation and media-driven ways of advancing opportunities for youth in Tanzania to participate and improve their life skills.
- Olga Yegorova (University of Leicester). Supervisors: Dr Maria Touri, Prof. Doug Tincello, Dr Jessica Noske-Turner. PhD title: Communication for Social Change to Reduce Stigma of Pelvic Floor Disorders in the Amhara Region
Interests and activities
Jessica is an Innovation Animator/Editor for the C4D Network.
Jessica is also an External Examiner for MA Media and International Development at the University of East Anglia.