Brigitta R. Brunner

Organisation‐public relationships: Measurement validation in a university setting

Given the link between quality relationships and supportive behaviours among organisations and publics, it is not surprising that public relations scholars and practitioners have turned their attention to trying to measure public relationships and understanding their value for organisations and publics. As part of the development of a diagnostic tool for measuring relationships, the present study attempted to test a measurement scale for the organisation‐public relationship. This research effort was designed to test empirically Hon and Grunig’s proposed organisation‐public relationship instrument. Although each of the two data sets displayed slightly different operationalised items, the two groups of subjects similarly perceived the six‐factor (trust, satisfaction, control mutuality, commitment, exchange relationship, communal relationship) measures as a valid and reliable instrument for measuring their relationship with the university.

Student perceptions of diversity on a college campus: scratching the surface to find more

American universities have made efforts in the past to create a more diverse student population, and this diversity has been linked to strategic benefits for both students and society. However, little research has examined students’ perspectives on these issues. We attempt to address this issue in the present study. The research reported on here uses focus groups to examine students’ thoughts about diversity and its place on an American college campus. What do students think about diversity on campus? Do they perceive it as something important? How do they define the word? Do they have any insight into how to make it an institutional value? The main research questions of the study were:

Listening, Communication & Trust: Practitioners' Perspectives of Business/Organizational Relationships

“Relationship” is a term that is used frequently in business communication. But what exactly is a business/organizational relationship? How is one built and maintained? Are processes such as listening and communication integral elements? This study attempts to suggest answers to the aforementioned questions using data collected from interviews with business communication professionals.

Managing Impressions in a Virtual Environment: Is Ethnic Diversity a Self-Presentation Strategy for Colleges and Universities?

This study examines how institutions of higher education use their websites to present diversity to build relationships and recruit prospective students. It involves a content analysis of the homepages of the 163 institutions that U.S. News named to the 2006 list of the country’s best comprehensive colleges and universities. The results showed that institutions in the West published more religious references and fewer photographs of women than institutions in other regions, and references to international programs were most prevalent in the Midwest. Overall, few institutions mention racial or ethnic diversity on their campuses, although visual representations of diversity in photographs are more common than textual references.

Mass communication and journalism faculty’s perceptions of the effectiveness of email communication with college students: a nationwide study

Nearly 700 US journalism and mass communication faculty (all teaching personnel) reported their perceptions of student email use via a web‐based survey. This nationwide study focused on the content of email sent by faculty to students, email’s effectiveness, and email’s effect on student learning. Comparisons were made based on faculty gender, rank, age, and ethnicity. Findings suggest that despite statistical differences, when gender, rank, age, or ethnicity are considered, faculty are not in the habit of sending course materials like syllabi, project instructions, and lecture notes to students personally via email. Moreover, faculty tend to find favor with email communication and its effectiveness as a tool of teaching. The results of this survey coupled with previous research by the authors and other scholars suggest faculty ought to embrace the technology and develop positive ways to incorporate email, as well as other technology, into the educational process.

Defining Public Relations Relationships and Diversity's Part in the Process: Practitioners' Perspectives

This research attempts to determine how practitioners define the word relationship, when it is used to describe that between an organization and public, via qualitative means. In addition, respondents were asked to explain what makes a good relationship and a bad one. They were also asked to consider whether or not attention to diversity was important to building and maintaining public relations relationships. Although respondents were quick to note that relationships were integral to their work, they had difficulty defining the term. The importance of diversity to building and maintaining relationships was also difficult to determine.