1,721,001 research outputs found
The trust factor: Towards a comprehensive model for trust in crisis communication
No full textOnly one in five Americans trusts the government, dramatically down from six in ten a month after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks (Pew Research Center, 2015). Australians trust differently. While 35 percent of Australians trust local, state and federal governments (Museum of Australian Democracy & Institute for Governance and Policy Analysis, 2016), generalized trust has remained relatively stable since it was first measured in 2006 (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2015). Trust is critical for any successful organizational-public relationship (Hon & Grunig, 1999; Yang, Kang, & Cha, 2015) but it is arguably foundational for government agencies that do not go out of business or face competitive pressure after poor management of disasters. When it comes to terrorism, severe weather, and public health emergencies, trust may be a primary driver of whether publics positively respond to government risk and crisis communication before, during and following disasters. .
Towards a generic skills learning model in public relations: student perspectives on self evaluation
No full textBuilding self-evaluation skills through criterion-referenced assessment in public relations
No full textAlthough technical skills in public relations are essential to practice, skills in self-evaluation, critical thinking, and problem solving are required when new practitioners move to management roles (Van Leuven, 1999). Public relations courses integrate specialist subject knowledge with graduate skill sets and capabilities in non-technical areas (Butcher & Stefani, 1995). Given that autonomy in learning is a skill valued by employers (Clifford, 1999) and advocated by accrediting professional bodies (Anderson, 1999), this study explores how public relations students build skills in and perceive the practice of self-evaluation. \ud
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Currently, the public relations education literature presents a limited treatment of self-evaluation. Therefore, this study is guided mostly by the education literature and uses criterion-referenced assessment to determine how more than 150 students understand assessment requirements, assess their strengths and weaknesses, and interpret the differences between their self and their tutor's judgement of performance. The results indicate strong support for student understanding of assessment requirements and self-evaluation techniques but lower than expected support for understanding the differences between their self and tutor judgements. These findings are significant to educators, practitioners and professional bodies as they have implications for lifelong learning for public relations professionals
Understanding assessment : the student experience of criterion-referenced assessment in a public relations course
No full textCriterion-referenced assessment (CRA) involves designing assessment tasks in line with subject goals, identifying skills to be demonstrated within an assessment task, assigning relative weights to, and describing each relative skill/criterion (Carlson, MacDonald, Gorely, Hanrahan, & Burgess-Limerick, 2000). In order to increase transparency and encourage assessment for learning, CRA was embedded within an undergraduate introductory public relations unit in 2004. In 2005, research was undertaken to explore the ongoing effectiveness of this assessment paradigm and to identify how more than 150 students used the CRA approach to enhance their learning. The findings of this study show continued strong use of and support for CRA, which has encouraged implementation of CRA across the public relations sequence
Stamping their ground: A study of public opinion and activists
No full textPublic opinion is comprised of a complex set of social and political processes that involve individuals, groups and organisations (Hennessy, 1981; Newsom, Turk & Kruckeberg, 2004). The relationships amongst these individuals, groups and organisations are guided by an equally complex set of values and principles (Ledingham & Bruning, 1998), which serve to shield or expose the organisational decisions that influence or respond to public opinion. Whilst there is much literature about public opinion and stakeholder relationships, this paper is part of a study that examines how activist stakeholders use public opinion to condemn government decisions, and shift debate from the court of public opinion to the court room itself. \ud
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This paper is built around a case study about the importation of Asian elephants. In July 2005, the Federal government approved the importation of eight endangered Asian elephants as part of a breeding program that would operate out of Taronga and Melbourne Zoos. In response, a number of animal welfare groups including the RSPCA lodged a legal challenge and forced the zoos to prove responsibility and effectiveness in caring for and breeding these elephants. This study involves an analysis of content from 68 items retrieved from print and electronic media from March to October 2005. Codes were developed from the literature to understand the nature of public opinion as well the sources of opinion. This paper will highlight the extent to which activist publics, as a united collective, will go to be heard. This study has implications for the continued understanding and management of activist and stakeholder relationships
What it means to become a public relations professional: student perceptions of professional identity through real-world learning
No full textPublic relations educators need new solutions to prepare students to become tomorrow's practitioner today. Managers and employers in the new creative workforce (McWilliam, 2008) expect graduates to be problem solvers, critical and creative thinkers, reflective, and self reliant (Barrie, 2008; David, 2004). Enabling students to develop these attributes requires a collaborative and creative approach to pedagogy (Jeffrey & Craft, 2001, 2004). A model for the next generation of public relations education was developed to integrate industry partnerships as a way to bridge pedagogy and professional practice. The model suggests (a) that industry partnerships be embedded in learning activities, (b) that assessment items be considered on a continuum and delivered incrementally across a course of study, and (c) that connections between classroom and workplace activities are clearly signposted for students
Trust, but verify : Social media models for disaster management
No full textA lack of trust in the information exchanged via social media may significantly hinder decisionmaking by community members and emergency services during disasters. The need for timely information at such times, though, challenges traditional ways of establishing trust. This paper, building on a multi-year research project that combined social media data analysis and participant observation within an emergency management organisation and in-depth engagement with stakeholders across the sector, pinpoints and examines assumptions governing trust and trusting relationships in social media disaster management. It assesses three models for using social media in disaster management—information gathering, quasi-journalistic verification, and crowdsourcing—in relation to the guardianship of trust to highlight the verification process for content and source and to identify the role of power and responsibilities. The conclusions contain important implications for emergency management organisations seeking to enhance their mechanisms for incorporating user-generated information from social media sources in their disaster response efforts
Increasing transparency: Utilising criterion-referenced assessment to enhance student learning in public relations
No full textThe central role of assessment in the learning and teaching environment is well\ud
recognised. Educators face growing demands to improve student\ud
understanding of and performance in assessment items (Marginson, 1997;\ud
Rust, Price & O’Donovan, 2003). At an institutional level, a number of\ud
universities have responded to these demands by reviewing assessment\ud
paradigms in order to better demonstrate transparency and accountability in the\ud
setting and marking of assessment items (Neil, Wadley & Phinn, 1999; Rust et\ud
al, 2003). One of the paradigms being adopted by universities is criterionreferenced\ud
assessment (CRA). CRA involves designing assessment tasks in\ud
line with subject goals, identifying skills to be demonstrated within an\ud
assessment task, assigning relative weights to, and describing each relative\ud
skill/criterion (Carlson, MacDonald, Gorely, Hanrahan, & Burgess-Limerick,\ud
2000).\ud
CRA has a number of advantages including the ability for students to target\ud
their performance against pre-determined standards and be judged as an\ud
individual rather than against a normative performance (Neil et al, 1999). A\ud
United Kingdom study of CRA showed significant improvement in performance\ud
by motivated students (O’Donovan, Price & Rust, 2001; Rust et al, 2003).\ud
However, other educators suggest that CRA limits student experimentation,\ud
creativity and originality (Hay, 1995).\ud
With the goals of increasing transparency and encouraging assessment for\ud
learning, CRA was introduced into an undergraduate introductory public\ud
relations unit with an enrolment of 290 students. Student research was\ud
undertaken to explore the success of the new assessment paradigm and to\ud
identify how students used the CRA approach to enhance their learning. The\ud
findings of this study show strong use of and support for CRA, with students\ud
using the assessment processes to identify their strengths and weaknesses\ud
and develop techniques to improve their performance in future assessment\ud
tasks
Destination public relations: Understanding the sources that influence course selection for and career preferences of postgraduate students
No full textThe growth of accredited postgraduate courses in public relations highlights the need for research that understands the motivations and career expectations of postgraduate students. Australian and international research suggests that undergraduate student expectations differ from the realities of courses and careers in public relations (Bowen, 2003; Storto, 1990; Xavier, Mehta & Larkin, 2006). Undergraduate students favour training in publicity and promotion more than the critical thinking and business skills preferred by employers (Bowen, 2003). The gap between perception and reality has the potential to affect the continued development of public relations as a management function. \ud
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Using international research as its base, this study explores the Australian postgraduate perspective through a survey of approximately 140 students to identify their motivations to study public relations and preferences for positions and workplace environments. The survey was administered in an introductory postgraduate public relations theory unit across four consecutive semesters during 2004 and 2005. The findings provide insight into the career expectations of postgraduate students who prefer careers in event management and publicity. Educators must balance student needs with university teaching and learning goals and industry expectations by preparing students for the diversity of careers in public relations
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