Public perceptions of public relations

Public relations has been portrayed in the media in a consistently negative manner over several decades, providing images that may become part of public perceptions. Perceptions about public relations affect the perceived credibility of the profession and influence whether people see public relations as valuable to society. Second-level agenda setting and cultivation theories purport that mass media contribute to beliefs about social reality by creating a cumulative, general consciousness upon which assumptions and judgments are based, suggesting that public perceptions about public relations would match media portrayal. Results of a telephone survey found public relations is perceived more positively than media portrayal would suggest. Respondents viewed public relations as an important activity that benefits society by providing information and disagree that it is damage control, an attempt to hide or disguise something, or a non-substantive activity. However, public relations is associated with publicity, media relations, and the attempt of an organization to advance its own agenda.     

An exploration of the effects of victim visuals on perceptions and reactions to crisis events

How news media and organizations use visual images in reports of crisis events remains relatively unexplored in spite of possible effects on perceptions of crisis responsibility and reputation. This study assessed the impact of visual condition (no visual, neutral visual, and victim visual) in two product harm crisis scenarios. Results revealed minimal effects for victim visuals. Implications for future research on visual elements and crisis communication are presented.     

Can willingness to pay capture the value of altruism? An exploration of Sen’s notion of commitment

Amartya Sen’s distinction between sympathy and commitment is used to examine the assertion that willingness to pay (WTP) can capture the value of altruism in health care. Willingness to pay values for a vaccination program stated to benefit only one’s self in the first instance and only other people in the second instance were elicited from a small convenience sample. Qualitative methods were then used to explore the meaning of the responses. Commitment was found to be a motivating factor and drove a wedge between willingness to pay and valuation of the program. The consequences of this for health economic research are discussed.     

Training together: An exploration of a shared learning approach to dual diagnosis training for specialist drugs workers and Approved Social Workers (ASWs)

This paper is the first of two linked articles exploring a shared learning approach to developing 'professional collaboration' as one way of improving care for people with complex inter-related mental health and substance misuse needs. The target groups for the training in this study are Approved Social Workers (ASWs) and specialist drugs workers. The article describes the social and professional contexts that shape the different training agendas for the respective groups of workers in an attempt to identify common themes that can be used as a foundation for developing training solutions. The relevance of a shared learning method of training delivery is critically discussed and the way in which this was adapted to respond to training needs identified in Birmingham is outlined. The paper concludes by suggesting that training providers should be encouraged to identify the common agenda for drugs workers and ASWs working with people with mental health and substance use needs and utilise a shared learning methodology to respond in a proactive way to improving service delivery through effective training. The second paper provides an in-depth exploration of the training delivered. Using a formative evaluation framework the paper reflects upon the methods employed to: ” identify curriculum content; ” promote collaborative working through different approaches to interprofessional learning; and ” demonstrate how the training is impacting on practice outcomes.