Michelle Shumate

The North/South Divide in NGO Hyperlink Networks

Globalization and communication scholars have argued that technology is transforming the ‘‘third sector’’, the set of organizations that are not-for-profit and non-governmental (NGOs). This research examines the local and global linkages among a hyperlink network of 248 HIV/AIDS NGOs. This research examines the north/south NGO divide in the context of these new technology-based associations. Results suggest that the north/ south divide is as great a concern in the virtual world as it is in the physical one. This research implies that globalization theorists’ argument that communication technologies break down economic and geographic barriers may be overstating the empirical reality. doi:10.1111/j.1083-6101.2008.00402.x According the 2006 UNAIDS report, approximately 40 million people globally are living with HIV and approximately 4.5 million contracted the virus in 2006. There are currently 17 times more HIV cases in the global south (i.e., Africa, Asia, Latin America, Eastern Europe) than in the global north (i.e., North America, Western Europe, Oceania). It goes without saying that the regions most devastated by this pandemic have the fewest internal resources to deal with it. Thus, connections between those working in the global north to address HIV/AIDS and those organizations indigenous to the global south have important implications for the global ability to address this disease. Case studies abound of non-profit, non-governmental organizations’ (NGOs) use of information communication technologies (ICTs) to cross vast distances. The Zapatista movement, an indigenous movement in Chiapas, Mexico, somewhat famously used ICTs to alert activists in the global north of their plight and was able to influence their government indirectly through the governments of the global north (Castells, 1997; Ronfeldt, Arquilla, Fuller, & Fuller, 1998). In another case study, Juris (2004) argues that the global justice movement demonstrates that NGOs using ICTs are performing ‘‘globalization from below,’’ due to the truly

Anti-smoking Media Campaign messages: Theory and practice

This study examined televised anti-smoking advertisements that were designed to discourage adult and teen smoking. A content analysis of 399 television advertisements catalogued in the Media Campaign Resource Center (MCRC) database were evaluated to determine (a) whether the advertising content reflected core health communication theories used in the design of health campaign messages to change behavior and (b) the affective presentation of tobacco-control advertisements aimed to decrease smoking. The results revealed that anti-smoking advertising relied overwhelmingly on appeals to attitudes. Although the benefits of not smoking were mentioned in 61% of advertisements, barriers were mentioned in only 17% of advertisements. Advertisements emphasized the consequences of smoking more than the viewers self-efficacy. Finally, advertisements were more likely to use informational and humor appeals, rather than sadness, fear, or anger appeals. The research identifies the types of advertisements that are most likely to be utilized and underutilized in national and statewide anti-smoking advertising campaigns catalogued in the MCRC database.

Connective collective action online: An examination of the hyperlink network structure of an NGO issue network

Nonprofit, nongovernmental organization (NGO) hyperlink networks are connective public goods, or sets of interorganizational links that enable members and nonmembers to reach like-minded organizations in order to enhance the visibility of the network’s goals. We extend collective action theory to account for both the level and structural signatures of contributions that generalist and specialist organizations make to these connective public goods. This study examines contributions that 48 English Speaking Islamic Resistance organizations make to a NGO hyperlink network. We found that generalist organizations, or organizations with heterogeneous goals, play several key roles in the connective public good. Generalist NGOs promoted the most legitimate face of the issue network, acting as brokers and authorities to other generalist NGOs, and initiators for both specialist and generalist NGOs.

An economic industry and institutional level of analysis of corporate social responsibility communication

This study identifies the similarities and differences in corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication at the institutional and economic industry level of analysis. Findings suggest that at the institutional level of analysis, a corporate consensus exists about the scope of CSR and is largely understood as welfare capitalism. However, at the economic level of analysis, differences across economic industries exist based on value-chain position. Specifically, industries further up the value-chain focus on the safety of their employees, ethical business practices, and environmental stewardship as essential elements of CSR, whereas economic industries closer to customers in the value chain were more likely to focus on philanthropy and education as CSR.

The Impact of Communal Knowledge Repositories and People-Based Knowledge Management on Perceptions of Team Effectiveness

Managers have increasingly implemented knowledge databases and knowledge-sharing training to improve team effectiveness. The authors examine whether intranet-based repository use and perception of accurate team knowledge of who knows what were related to perceived team effectiveness. They found that the perception that ones team had accurate who-knows-what knowledge is positively related to perceived team effectiveness. Repository use is not positively related to perceived team effectiveness. Remote work and tenure are not significant moderators of these relationships. These findings imply that perception of an accurate cognitive map of who knows what is more important to perceived team effectiveness than accessing information from repositories, regardless of remote work status or organizational tenure.

Exponential Random Graph (p*) Models as a Method for Social Network Analysis in Communication Research

Since the 1970s, communication researchers have utilized social network analysis to understand mass, health, organizational, and interpersonal communication. This article introduces communication researchers to a new class of social network analysis methods, exponential random graph (p*) models. This new method represents the latest advancement in social network methodology and will enhance the trajectory of social network research in the communication discipline. The benefits of this class of models include allowing for the simultaneous estimation of attribute and structural parameters, accounting for the interdependent nature of network data, and retaining the complexity of network observations throughout the analysis. An example analysis using data from Shumate, Fulk, and Monge (2005) is provided to illustrate the potentials of exponential random graph modeling. Five different social network software programs capable of the analysis discussed in this article are introduced with regard to their respective benefits. Finally, a brief tutorial based on data from Palazzolo (2005) is given on how to conduct an ERGM analysis using the PNET software program.

Advancing Research in Organizational Communication Through Quantitative Methodology

This article showcases current best practices in quantitative organizational communication research. We emphasize their value in exploring issues of the day and their relation to other research approaches. Materials are presented around four themes: systematic development and validation of measures, including the use of mixed methods; multiple levels of analysis; the study of change and development over time; and relationships among people, units, organizations, and meanings.

Interorganizational Collaboration Explored Through the Bona Fide Network Perspective

This research proposes a bona fide network perspective for examining interorganizational collaboration. This perspective emphasizes that (a) network boundaries are fuzzy and membership is dynamic, (b) interorganizational networks are embedded in a complex environment that enables some configurations and constrains others, (c) interorganizational networks are multiplex and different types of relationships are mutually influential, (d) these networks are dynamically restructured over time, and (e) outcomes of networks occur at the individual and whole network levels. An interorganizational collaboration network among gender-based violence NGOs in Zambia is used as an illustrative case. Using a mixed-method design, this research finds substantial differences between donor-driven and grassroots coalitions; in addition, NGOs report a number of obstacles to collaboration and outcomes at individual and network levels.

The Evolution of the HIV/AIDS NGO Hyperlink Network

Hyperlink networks are dynamic systems of representational communication. In order to understand the varied influences on processes that produce these systems, this research examines the evolution of a HIV/AIDS nongovernmental organization (NGO) hyperlink network over one year. The results demonstrate that different factors influence the rate of variation, selection, and retention of hyperlinks. The presence of a greater number of corporate or government hyperlinks to a NGO Website is related to the rate of variation. Network embeddedness and issue network participation are related to the selection of hyperlinks. Finally, indegree centrality and issue network participation are related to hyperlink retention. Implications for the study of hyperlink networks as dynamic representational communication systems are drawn from the results.

International Nonprofit Collaboration Examining the Role of Homophily

The importance and popularity of interorganizational collaboration among nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have grown considerably in recent years. Despite these growths, however, not much is known about why NGOs network the way they do or why NGO networks are structured the way they are. Using homophily theory and exponential random graph modeling, this study examines the patterns of interorganizational collaborative ties among infectious diseases international NGOs (INGOs) in 2007 (n = 94). The results suggest that these NGOs are more likely to collaborate when they have the same status, when they have similar (closer) founding dates, when they are headquartered in the same global hemisphere (north/south), when they have common funding partners, and when they are headquartered in the same geographic regions. Overall, the findings from this study suggest that various sources of homophily inform partner selection among infectious disease INGOs.