Expanding the crisis planning function: Introducing elements of risk communication to crisis communication practice

This study suggests the use of elements of risk communication for use by crisis communication practitioners who will face an increasing industrial reliance on new technology which might be associated with potential health and environmental harm. A case study of a small company crisis revealed that the elements of anticipation, public involvement, public trust, technological comparison, and media tolerance might be useful to public relations practitioners dealing with technological crises.     

Self-tracking as communication

Self-tracking has attracted a lot of attention from researchers and public opinion makers owing to its potential for improving life conditions through preemptive action on health, and as a tool of user empowerment vis-à-vis health-care professionals and private and public institutions. Nevertheless, the ‘stuff’ that is typically tracked – exercise and diet being the dominant tracking activities – refers to cultural and social practices that, for the individual user, are utterly mundane and reside in an experiential realm of everyday life. Self-tracking has to be understood in relation to behavior that is predominantly about getting things done in ways that are possible, suitable and meaningful for the individual. To account for this, we propose to conceptualize self-tracking as a communicative phenomenon along three dimensions: communication with the system, the self and social networks of peers. We develop the theoretical framework, drawing upon empirical findings from a qualitative study on how self-tracking is practiced and experienced in the context of exercise by different categories of empirical users. We demonstrate that the meanings of self-tracking practices are, at once, shaped by the motivation of an individual user who is situated in a broader web of everyday activities, and stimulated and augmented by communicative features provided by the technology.     

Religion as communication

From the perspective of social system theory, religion is a label by which it is possible to study the relation between the individual expressions of the sacred, on one hand, and the organized system of meanings to be referred to the sacred, on the other, developing a relatively free chain of communication. Therefore, coherently to this approach, the author suggests to assume the notion of religion as communication: a system of belief challenges the complexity of the world, trying to reduce that, transforming the external differentiation into a internal one. This theoretical approach supports three research strategies: (a) overcoming the disputing question secularization/de-secularization, focusing on the dynamics of the relation between a system of belief and the social change occurring in a social context; (b) going beyond the polarization between tradition and modernity, confuting the assumption that modernity means necessarily the decline of religion; (c) reconsidering religion in the light of the social theory.     

The impact of computer based communication on the social structure of an emerging scientific specialty

This is a study of the impact of a computer conference on the formation of interpersonal ties among scientists. Various techniques from social networks analysis are adapted and used to study the structure of interpersonal ties among a set of scientists both before and during a computer conference. Although the data are not experimental, the results are suggestive. The computer, it seems, can perhaps take the place of protracted face-to-face interaction and provide the sort of social structure out of which a scientific specialty can grow.     

An integrated model for conceptualising visual competence in scientific research and communication

Visual representation in both natural and social sciences is an important and growing area of research and an ever‐growing practice, given the rapidly developing visual imaging technologies. This article seeks to contribute to our understanding of the complex processes and decisions that go into producing and using visual representations as prime vehicles of knowledge building and dissemination. To that aim the author develops an integrated theoretical model for disclosing and interrelating the vast array of aspects in representational practices that affect the appearance and the uses that can be made of their visual end products. This knowledge will help towards developing scientific integrity and optimising expressive capabilities in scientific visual culture. In developing the model, explicit attention is paid to the diverse nature of referents in scientific research, the complex interplay across various types of ‘translation processes’ in arriving at legible and valid data, the imminent ambiguities and growing hybridity of visual representational methods and techniques, and the determining role of purpose and the urgent need to develop a more encompassing set of visual competencies among scholars.     

Cyberscience: Modelling ICT-induced changes of the scholarly communication system

The use of information and communication technologies (ICT) is changing science and research. This paper focuses on the complex process of change of the scholarly communication system and how on we may explain the differences of ICT use among research fields. The author submits a heuristic model of change that sets ICT initially as an independent variable and systematizes a series of intervening variables. He distinguishes between institutional, functional/technical and actor-related factors that contribute to our overall understanding of the path of academe towards 'cyberscience'. It turns out that the ICT-induced development and hence the differences between research specialities cannot be explained by a small, parsimonious set of factors. The resulting picture is one of multiple causation with a strong emphasis on cultural aspects.     

Open information system and crisis communication in China

This paper discusses the role of media and communication at times of public crisis and contends that a modern, open information system is a precondition for good crisis management. It traces evolving policy discourse in Mainland China with a special focus on the relationship between the authorities and media. An overview is provided to contextualize and historicize the contemporary development. By examining a series of critical news events triggered by public crises, especially the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) epidemic in 2003, it provides a broad assessment of the issues involved in the creation of China's open information system, with regard to both institutional policy‐making as well as everyday journalistic practices in reporting the emergent events. Finally, the paper discusses pertinent legislative and regulatory measures in recent years that hold particular importance to state‐media relationship during public crises, especially the Emergency Response Law promulgated in June 2007.     

Empathy as a main ingredient of impactful crisis communication: The perspectives of crisis communication practitioners

Sixteen in-depth interviews with Belgian crisis communication practitioners were conducted to get their perspectives on the role of empathy in crisis communication. While demonstrating empathy toward crisis-affected stakeholders is considered an essential best practice, the role of empathy in responding to crises has only received limited attention in research. The aims of this study were to examine how practitioners interpret the concept of empathy in crisis communication; to what extent they value the expression of empathy in crisis responses and for what reasons; and what exactly constitutes an empathetic crisis response according to them. In addition, instances in which stakeholders may in turn experience empathy for organizations in crisis were examined. As such, the aspiration behind this study was to provide insights that can initiate further theorization and research on the role of empathy in the context of organizational crisis communication.     

城市科技创新系统及其评价的实证研究

当今世界,科技创新对经济社会发展的推动作用日益凸现.科技创新已成为一个国家或地区综合竞争力的决定性力量.科技创新系统作为城市科技发展的基础,其状况从根本上决定和影响了城市科技创新活动的全过程.因此,研究分析城市科技创新系统的发展状况,评价其存在的问题和差距,可以全面检验城市科技创新系统的运行情况,衡量城市科技创新系统的有效性,有利于决策者及时发现问题,并进行有针对性的政策调控.     

Medicine as a human science between the singularity of the patient and technical scientific reproducibility

Poiesis &; Praxis - The often-emphasized tension between the singularity of the patient and technical–scientific reproducibility in medicine cannot be resolved without a discussion of the...     

Accuracy of nonverbal communication as determinant of interpersonal expectancy effects

The person perception paradigm was used to address the effects of experimenters' ability to encode nonverbal cues and subjects' ability to decode nonverbal cues on magnitude of expectancy effects. Greater expectancy effects were obtained when experimenters were better encoders and subjects were better decoders of nonverbal cues and the separate contributions of experimenter's and subject's nonverbal skills were of similar magnitudes.The authors wish to express their thanks to Rena Baskin for her help.Preparation of this article and the research described was facilitated by a grant [GS-3942] from the Division of Social Sciences of the National Science Foundation to Robert Rosenthal.     

Structural elements as barriers against wear in urban woodlands

The effect of structural elements of woodlands (trees, rocks, topography, etc.) on the spatial distribution of wear was studied in 30 sites in the cities of Helsinki and Vantaa, Finland. Discriminant analysis showed that the size of the adjacent human population and structural elements within study sites were important in distinguishing sample plots with a lot of path area (6 m²/30 m²) from those with little or no path area (>6 m²/30 m²). The higher the structural elements, the more effectively they functioned as barriers against wear. Thickets of small trees (dbh > 10 cm), topographical elements, and fallen trees seemed most effective, and big trees (dbh 10 cm) least effective as barriers. It was concluded that natural barriers could be used to limit wear in urban woodlands.     

Attribution Theory as a guide for post-crisis communication research

The field of crisis communication is poised to take the next in its evolution. Now is the time to move beyond the limits of the case study methods that shape the field's development and shift to empirical methods. As the field matures, crisis managers need recommendations that are based on scientifically tested evidence rather than speculation. The argument for scientifically tested evidence for action is based on the evidence-based in management and medicine. This article discusses the role Attribution Theory has played and can continue to play in building scientifically tested evidence for crisis managers as well as providing an integrative mechanism for the diverse crisis research that spans a variety of disciplines.     

Dissemination as success: Local emergency management communication practices

Local emergency managers are charged by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to increase the number of community members with emergency plans and kits. This outcome remains unrealized in part based upon in-depth interviews with 37 emergency managers in eight states revealing that emergency managers conceptualize communication as dissemination rather than as a process of research and evaluation. This study calls for local emergency managers to conduct outcome evaluations of risk communication campaigns to increase public participation.     

Economic advice as a vocation: symbioses of scientific and political authority

Academic economists perform an important function in advising politicians and state bureaucrats, lending them epistemological authority. This creates a challenge of institutional design and of professional vocation, of how these experts can combine their commitment to scientific analysis with their commitment towards their governmental patrons. This article examines the case of anti-trust economics, in which government economists are encouraged to remain as academically engaged as possible, so that their advice will be - or appear to be - unpolluted by political or bureaucratic pressures. Yet this ideal is constantly compromised by the fact that the economists are nevertheless government employees, working beneath lawyers. Max Weber's concept of a 'vocation' is adopted to explore this tension, and his two lectures, 'Science as a Vocation' and 'Politics as a Vocation' are read side by side, to consider this core dilemma of academic policy advisors.     

Content-masking methods as determinants of results of studies of nonverbal communication

The present study was designed to determine whether the technique used to control the semantic content of emotional communications might influence the results of research on the effects of gender, age, and particular affects on accuracy of decoding tone of voice. Male and female college and elementary school students decoded a 48-item audio tape-recording of emotional expressions encoded by two children and two college students. Six emotions — anger, fear, happiness, jealousy, pride and sadness — were expressed in two types of content-standard messages, namely letters of the alphabet and an affectively neutral sentence. The results of the study indicate that different methods for controlling content can indeed influence the results of studies of determinants of decoding performance. Overall, subjects demonstrated greater accuracy when decoding emotions expressed in the standard sentence than when decoding emotions embedded in letters of the alphabet. A technique by emotion interaction, however, revealed that this was especially true for the purer emotions of anger, fear, happiness and sadness. Subjects identified the less pure emotions of jealousy and pride relatively more accurately when these emotions were embedded in the alphabet technique. The implications of these results for research concerning the vocal communication of affect are briefly discussed.Preparation of this article was supported in part by the National Science Foundation.     

Individual differences in expressive style as a mediator of expectancy communication

This study investigates the role of nonverbal expressiveness and self-monitoring as mediators in the communication of teachers' expectations for student performance to a third party observer. Undergraduates were recruited to be videotaped while teaching a brief lesson to a high school student who was presented as either very bright and motivated or not. Videotapes showing only the teacher were later shown to observers who were asked for their impressions of the student who was being taught. It was hypothesized that teachers who were highly nonverbally expressive would communicate their expectations to the observers, and would thus elicit from them responses quite similar to their own. On the other hand, it was predicted that unexpressive teachers would not communicate their expectations, eliciting observer responses unrelated to their own. The predictions were supported but with a major qualification: it was found that spontaneous expressiveness interacted with self-monitoring in determining expectancy communication. The findings point towards new directions in understanding the occurrence and mediation of expectancy effects.A portion of this paper was presented at the American Psychological Association meetings in Anaheim, California, August, 1983. The research was supported in part by a University of California intramural research grant to the second author, by a UCR minigrant to the third author, and by an NIH biomedical research support equipment grant.     

Social network and content analysis of the North American Carbon Program as a scientific community of practice

The North American Carbon Program (NACP) was formed to further the scientific understanding of sources, sinks, and stocks of carbon in Earth's environment. Carbon cycle science integrates multidisciplinary research, providing decision-support information for managing climate and carbon-related change across multiple sectors of society. This investigation uses the conceptual framework of communities of practice (CoP) to explore the role that the NACP has played in connecting researchers into a carbon cycle knowledge network, and in enabling them to conduct physical science that includes ideas from social science. A CoP describes the communities formed when people consistently engage in shared communication and activities toward a common passion or learning goal. We apply the CoP model by using keyword analysis of abstracts from scientific publications to analyze the research outputs of the NACP in terms of its knowledge domain. We also construct a co-authorship network from the publications of core NACP members, describe the structure and social pathways within the community. Results of the content analysis indicate that the NACP community of practice has substantially expanded its research on human and social impacts on the carbon cycle, contributing to a better understanding of how human and physical processes interact with one another. Results of the co-authorship social network analysis demonstrate that the NACP has formed a tightly connected community with many social pathways through which knowledge may flow, and that it has also expanded its network of institutions involved in carbon cycle research over the past seven years.     

Sensitivity to bodily nonverbal communication as a factor in practitioner-patient rapport

The relationship between physicians' nonverbal sensitivity and the satisfaction of their patients was tested in two field studies. In the first study, 40 physicians were given a film test of nonverbal sensitivity (the PONS test) and were evaluated by their patients. The second study was a replication using 31 additional physicians. Most noteworthy for research in therapeutic interaction, the present studies contained three methodological advances: (1) the use of actual patients' ratings of satisfaction with treatment, (2) the extension of research from psychological to medical settings, and (3) the use of a standardized test of nonverbal decoding skill. Physicians' skill at reading the emotion conveyed through the nonverbal channel of body movement was found to be significantly correlated with their interpersonal success with patients in the clinical setting.The authors would like to thank Donald Dickson, M.D., Mary Ann Spadaro, M.D., Louise M. Prince, John L. Helmuth, Jr., Helene M. Murphy, and the physicians and patients who participated in the research. Study I was supported by a Peter B. Livingston Fellowship from the Massachusetts Mental Health Center and Study II by a W. K. Kellogg Fellowship from the Hospital Research and Educational Trust, both to the senior author.