Karen Freberg

Using the Theory of Planned Behavior to Predict Intention to Comply With a Food Recall Message

The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) has provided considerable insight into the publics intention to comply with many different health-related messages, but has not been applied previously to intention to comply with food safety recommendations and recalls (Hallman & Cuite, 2010). Because food recalls can differ from other health messages in their urgency, timing, and cessation, the applicability of the TPB in this domain is unknown. The research reported here attempted to address this gap using a nationally representative consumer panel. Results showed that, consistent with the theorys predictions, attitudes and subjective norms were predictive of the intention to comply with a food recall message, with attitudes having a much greater impact on intent to comply than subjective norms. Perceived behavioral control failed to predict intention to comply. Implications of these results for health public relations and crisis communications and recommendations for future research were discussed.

Convergence of Digital Negotiation and Risk Challenges: Strategic Implications of Social Media for Risk and Crisis Communications

Strategic risk and crisis communication amalgamation with social media is one of the considerable growth areas of communication research and practice. Individuals and organizations can use social media to engage in dialogue with a wide range of stakeholders while sharing information (textual and visual) on various social media platforms; transforming how crisis professionals are targeting risk bearers, who are often their consumers before, during, and after a crisis.

Using a Situational Q‐Sort to Assess Perceptions of a Food Recall Message as a Function of Delivery Via Social, Organizational or Traditional Media

Behavior in response to a crisis will result from a combination of individual and situational variables. In spite of the increased recognition of the importance of situational variables, a literature and methodological toolkit for the study of situational influences that is comparable with those available for individual variables has not yet emerged. However, the recently developed Riverside Situational Q‐sort provides a novel method for quantifying subjective impressions of any situation. This proof‐of‐concept demonstration asked participants to complete the RSQ in response to an imaginary food crisis situation communicated via one of three message sources (social media, organizational website and traditional media). Results illustrate the potential of this method to provide quantitative evaluations of subjective responses to crisis situations.

Book Review: Crisis Ready: Building an Invincible Brand in an Uncertain World by Melissa AgnesAgnesMelissaCrisis Ready: Building an Invincible Brand in an Uncertain World. Herndon, VA: Mascot Books, 2018. 288 pp.

and less paper footprints. Finally, career advice is also dispensed in the final chapter tying altogether the items to send a sound deliverable, the student to work in the everchanging field of digital journalism. From my perspective, this book would be the perfect companion book in several classes that would like to emphasize strong traditional journalism practice, extending the field and those entering, to the practicality of training them for “real life”— that place we are always telling them about. It neither contradicts, nor denies, traditional journalism priorities, it enhances them, much like an Instagram filter does a photograph.

17.32. ISBN-13: 978-1-6840-1413-2.

The Syrian refugee crisis, started in 2011, has resulted in millions of Syrians fleeing their homes: 6.6 million have been internally displaced and more than 4.6 million have fled the country. This flow of refugees has led to both humanitarian efforts to assist refugees and growing views of refugees as a threat to receiving countries’ security and autonomy. Sentiments about the still-growing crisis are increasingly expressed on social media platforms, including visual ones like Instagram and Pinterest. However, little is known about what and how information about refugees is presented on these platforms. The current study addresses this gap by conducting a quantitative content analysis of a random sample of 750 Instagram posts and 750 Pinterest posts to evaluate and compare visual and textual messaging surrounding this crisis. Results show that Pinterest messages more frequently depict security-concern sentiment and include more unique visual components than Instagram. Across platforms, security-concern posts were more likely to be framed thematically; whereas most humanitarian-concern posts were framed episodically. The study concludes with a discussion of implications for communication scholars and practitioners that may inform the development of visual-based social-mediated messaging.

Welcome or Not: Comparing #Refugee Posts on Instagram and Pinterest:

Social media have affected daily activities, communication practices, and business practices throughout society. Social media are more frequently embraced in higher education as well. One indication of this growth is the fact that more than half of all teaching faculty use social media at least monthly for professional reasons, with professors in professions and applied sciences being at the forefront of the use. Interviews with more than 20 industry professionals representing nonprofits, corporations, and subject matter experts provide insights into key considerations for social media education. Future social media education should provide not only academic training but also industry expertise.

Social Media Education: Industry Leader Recommendations for Curriculum and Faculty Competencies:

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose a conceptual model that can be used to bridge organizational identity and reputation messages. The proposed model may help organizations more-effectively build and maintain both their desired identity as well as reputation. Design/methodology/approach – The qualitative and exploratory procedure was used to develop a model for simultaneously managing and measuring both identity and reputation messages. The process of conceptualizing an exploratory, qualitative value model begins with identifying relevant concepts and measures. A qualitative review of reputation and identity scholarship was examined for recurring themes and concepts. These themes were then used to formulate the identity and reputation functions and value measures. Findings – The proposed conceptual model presents characteristics and attributes that scholars and practitioners may need to consider when managing an organization’s identity and reputation messages online. The paper also presents ...

Bridging organizational identity and reputation messages online: a conceptual model

Advances in technology are hardly new to the communication classroom. In many ways, the introduction of social media technologies presents itself as a paradox for communication studies. On the one hand, these are technologies that showcase the very core of human communication—allowing users to have nearly unfettered access to each other’s thoughts, feelings, and actions, and creating a digital landscape in which all of us can essentially learn from all of us. On the other hand, the same technologies often function as “weapons of mass distraction” precisely because of this unfettered access—friends and loved ones are often more interesting than the course lessons in front of us on any given day. The impetus of this special issue was to offer a focal point for these debates within the field of communication studies, buttressed with empirical data and focused on the specific question: what role might social media play in the communication classroom? Over two dozen articles were submitted that probed this question from a number of different angles: a mix of full manuscripts, research reports, and teaching activities. Among the common threads of the six articles accepted for publication is that they show a purposeful and directed use of social media towards discrete educational goals—to enhance communication and collaboration with peers (in the same classroom, as well as from around the globe) and to create sustainable digital and physical communities (through service learning and professional community). These studies demonstrated that social media technologies can be powerful tools for the communication classroom, but only to the extent that they are understood by all shareholders (learners, teachers, and other stakeholders). Notably, the articles presented in this special issue consider scenarios in which social media is corralled and focused towards educational goals, by proxy suggesting that their great (communicative) power requires a measure of responsible and literate implementation. We hope in this special issue the research presented serves as a catalyst for exploring more data driven research in social media pedagogy. Notably, the use of social media in the classroom should move beyond a more basic tactical perspective (teaching how to use the programs) to empirically supported integration of these tools across relevant aspects of the curriculum. Finally, as social media are constantly evolving, more research will be needed if we are to successfully leverage these tools to advance knowledge of communication, both in and out of class.