Evaluating excellence: A model of evaluation for public relations practice in organizational culture and context

This paper represents the development of an innovative and comprehensive model designed to measure public relations excellence within an organizational context. Drawing on established scales of evaluation for public relations practice, researchers propose a measurement model situated within excellence Theory. Through a partnership between the research team and The Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) organization, a case study approach was developed and implemented, highlighting the relationships between organizational culture and communication. The Excellence in Organizational Context model was tested within the AER, using empirical data gathered through in-depth semi-structured interviews and a self-report questionnaire survey conducted with individuals from various identified organizational stakeholder groups. This mixed-method approach was employed to explore and understand the multi-dimensional nature of public relations practice within this organization.Researchers investigated eight dimensions of excellence in this model. Initial findings indicate that the Excellence in Organizational Context model proposed here is a valid and appropriate method for measuring public relations performance when applied as a mixed-method approach for measuring practice and establishing context within an organizational culture. This indicates the need for both organizational, stakeholder, and sector/national level data in confirming relevant benchmarks.     

Have you really come a long way? women’s access to power in the United States

Although vast social and political changes over the past decades have opened many opportunities for women, many activists and academics maintain that women continue to face significant barriers to entry into positions of power and influence. The vast majority of American leaders are white and male, but the representation of women in the professions has begun to rise as more and more women enter the leadership ranks of various professions. This article provides a profile of women who currently hold positions of power in the United States—who they are, what sectors they represent, and how their opinions on social and political issues compare and contrast with one another. Analyzing data from the Study of Leadership Characteristics, a recently completed national survey of American elites, this article examines the structure and gender composition of elites in the United States, revealing patterns of both conflict and consensus among women elites.     

Social Context at Work: A Multilevel Analysis of Job Satisfaction

Analyzing data on classified employees working in 18 departments in a university, this paper uses hierarchical linear models to explore the effects of social context on workers' job satisfaction. Drawing on organizational demographers' claims that satisfying social relations in the workplace have demographic sources and that workers are more satisfied in demographically homogeneous work units, we examine the effects of department-level sex and race heterogeneity on workers' feelings about their jobs. Our results show that satisfaction levels are lower in more sex- and race-heterogeneous departments, as hypothesized. In addition, we found that satisfaction is higher in departments with higher average levels of job tenure, though the individual-level effect of tenure on job satisfaction was not statistically significant. Our results provide support for a social-relational view of work and demonstrate the usefulness of multilevel models as an analytic strategy for examining these issues.     

Vulnerability of native and exotic urban birds to housing densification and changing gardening and landscaping trends

Variation in densities of native and exotic urban-adapted birds across suburban habitats may reveal levels of adaptation that predict vulnerability to habitat modification over time. We investigated the densities of the eight most common exotic and native birds in a southern hemisphere city across suburbs of varying housing density, vegetative cover and garden vegetation characteristics to determine whether avian population densities are maintained across variations in habitat structure that mirror current temporal trends in land use and landscaping/gardening preferences. We also tested whether densities of birds in residential areas bordering undeveloped patches were higher due to spill-over from patches. Densities of all four native species were highest in undeveloped patches and these species were largely absent from high density housing areas. While densities of two exotic species (blackbird, song thrush) were slightly higher in suburbs with greater vegetation complexity, they were still present in higher density housing suburbs in significant numbers. Common starlings were similarly abundant across all residential habitats and house sparrow density increased in higher density housing areas. Blackbirds appeared least vulnerable to housing densification and landscaping and gardening trends because they were abundant across all habitats, including undeveloped patches. Densities of native birds were higher in residential areas bordering undeveloped patches indicating spill-over was occurring and emphasising the role that patches could play in boosting city-wide native bird abundances. Native birds are vulnerable to reductions in garden size and vegetation complexity that should have little or positive effects on populations of common exotic species.     

Entertainment,Intelligent, or Hybrid Programming? An Automated Content Analysis of 12 Years of Political Satire Interviews

The research considers the balance of intellectual versus entertainment-oriented individuals appearing as interview guests on political satire programs. Specifically, the analysis employs semi-supervised learning to categorize the occupations of individuals appearing on The Daily Show and The Colbert Report between 2003 and 2014 (N = 3,507). The results confirm that satire programs have become an important outlet for politicians and journalists looking to connect with a younger audience. More often than not, these guest appearances privilege a newsworthy and intellectually oriented discussion of contemporary issues and ideas as opposed to the promotion of entertainment content. Important to note, the data set represents the largest body of political satire content analyzed to date and the results confirm the value of applying automated and semi-supervised learning coding within communication research. We conclude by discussing the methodological contributions of our coding process, future directions for political comedy research, and the scalable potential of automated coding efforts.     

The Effects of Subjective Age and Aging Attitudes on Mid- to Late-Life Sexuality

This study examined the effects of subjective age and attitudes about aging on frequency of sex and interest in sexual activity among middle-aged and older adults. Data were drawn from two waves of the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study (n = 1,170 adults, mean age Time 1 = 53.70 years, SD = 9.08). Regression analyses were used to investigate the effects of subjective age and attitudes about aging on three measures of sexuality: frequency of sex, perceived quality of sexual activity, and interest in sexual activity, over 10 years. The older participants felt and the less positive their views of aging, the less they rated sexual activity as enjoyable over time. Feeling older (though not attitudes about aging) also predicted less interest in sex. Subjective age and beliefs about aging did not have an impact on frequency of sex. Although frequency of sex was not predicted by subjective aging and aging attitudes, the results suggested that subjective age and stereotypic views on aging may shape the experience of sex in later life.     

Mental health literacy,stigma, and help-seeking behaviors among male college students

Objective: Mental health literacy (MHL) is low in college-aged men potentially resulting in impaired mental wellbeing. This study assessed MHL, psychosocial determinants, and help-seeking behaviors among male university students. Participants: Male undergraduate and graduate students were surveyed in Spring 2017 (n = 1,242) at a large southeastern university in the United States. Methods: Preexisting validated scales for MHL, psychosocial determinants, and help-seeking intention were used in measurement and demographic variables were collected. T-tests and one-way ANOVA were performed to measure differences between groups. Results: Participants showed low scores for all constructs with statistically significant differences between undergraduate and graduate students, as well as between races and major classifications. Undergraduate men had moderate MHL and low intentions to seek professional care. Conclusions: Interventions focusing on increasing mental health knowledge and improving beliefs can improve MHL among male college students. Further, interventions should be tailored for racial groups and major classifications.     

Moving from ‘what we know works’ to ‘what we do in practice’: An evidence overview of implementation and diffusion of innovation in transition to adulthood for care experienced young people

Global research has shown that most young people who are care experienced are not prepared to transition to independent living at 18 years of age and require support into early adulthood. We used rigorous systematic methods to identify English-based peer reviewed and grey literature describing innovations relevant to care experienced young people as they transition into adulthood, with a focus upon lessons for their implementation and diffusion. We synthesised the evidence narratively and organise data linked to seven key areas important to the transition to adulthood: (1) Health and well-being; (2) relationships; (3) education and training; (4) employment; (5) participation in society; (6) accommodation; (7) other. Twenty-five papers met our inclusion criteria. This review has found that, whilst there are a broad spectrum of innovations taking place within the social care environment for care experienced young people to support their transition into adulthood, there exists limited insight into how best to support implementation and diffusion of evidence-based innovation. We drew upon the ‘Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research’, developed in the setting of clinical service delivery, to highlight challenges in implementing and diffusing evidence-based innovation for care experienced young people transitioning into adulthood.